The Hungarian e-commerce market is rapidly growing, bolstered by the COVID-19 pandemic, with expectations for turnover to exceed €4.9 billion by 2024. Key trends include a significant increase in online shopping frequency, diverse product categories, and the popularity of cash on delivery as a payment method. Cultural factors, such as language preferences and price sensitivity, play a crucial role for businesses looking to enter the market.

1. What Makes Hungarian
E-commerce Special?
Róbert Pintér
Reacty Digital
| Corvinus University of Budapest
March 31, 2021

2. Introduction
∕ Róbert Pintér | Reacty Digital Ltd.
∕ Business Development Director
∕ +36 30 999 65 95
∕ robert.pinter@reacty.digital
∕ Reacty Digital
∕ https://reacty.digital/en
∕ Market research company specialised in e-commerce
∕ Our mission is to create a research ecosystem that
allows our customers to measure and streamline their
sales and marketing activities through regular
user/customer or employee surveys and market
benchmarks.
2

3. E-commerce trends in
Hungary
3

4. The share of e-commerce increases worldwide
∕According to eMarketer’s forecast, e-commerce
in China will account for more than 50% of retail
sales in 2021
∕In the US this figure is expected to be 15% while
in Western-Europe it is only 12,8%
∕In Hungary, the share of e-commerce was 7,6%
in 2019 and expected to be app. 10% for 2020*
4
Source: Ethan Cramer-Flood: In global historic first, ecommerce in China will account for more than 50% of retail sales (2021)
https://www.emarketer.com/content/global-historic-first-ecommerce-china-will-account-more-than-50-of-retail-sales?ecid=NL1016
*Reacty Digtal webshop survey, March-April 2020. Same survey is just in progress in 2021.

5. E-commerce in Hungary is growing steadily
∕ That is a 17% growth compared to the year
before
∕ Data for 2020 will be available soon as our
annual research is currently in progress
5
Domestic Hungarian online
retail turnover in 2019:
~€2.3
billion
Source: Reacty Digtal webshop survey, March-April 2020.

6. Online shoppers in Hungary
∕ 85% of the Hungarian adult population uses the
internet regularly (Hungarian Central Statistical
Office)
∕ 63% of Hungarians aged 18-79 bought
something online in Nov. – Dec. 2020.*
∕ Demographic groups that shop the most online
in Hungary (at least once a month) are:**
∕ Men
∕ People aged 30-44
∕ People with higher educational attainment
∕ Employed people
6
Source: *Reacty omnibus survey, January 2021., n=1000
** Reacty Digtal e-commerce survey, VeVa online research community, March-April 2020., n=914

7. Popular online product categories in Hungary
∕The most popular product categories purchased
online in 2019 were:
∕ clothing / shoes / bags (57%),
∕ mobile phones and accessories (56%)
∕ toys / gifts (52%)
7
Source: Reacty Digtal e-commerce survey, VeVa online research community, March-April 2020.,
n=819 who shopped online in the previous year

8. The number of categories ordered online is increasing
∕In recent years, more and more people are
ordering products and services from the
∕ health and wellness
∕ home appliances
∕ beauty and cosmetics categories
∕The number of product categories ordered is
also increasing, with the average customer
having already bought online from 7 product
categories at least once in their lifetime
8
Source: Reacty Digtal e-commerce survey, VeVa online research community, March-April 2020.,
n=819 who shopped online in the previous year

9. Product categories with the largest online traffic
in 2019 in Hungary
∕computer technology
∕clothing / sportswear
∕consumer electronics
∕home furnishing
∕household appliances
9
Source: Reacty Digtal webshop survey, March-April 2020.

10. Payment on delivery is the most popular
∕ The most popular payment option in Hungary
was payment on delivery followed by online
payment via bank in 2020*
∕ 63% of online shoppers preferred cashless
payment options in 2020**
10
28% 35%
15% 5%
April 2019. January 2021.
Source: *Reacty Digtal e-commerce survey, VeVa online research community, March-April 2020., n=819 who shopped online in the previous year
**Reacty Digtal online survey, VeVa online research community, January 2021., n=818 who shopped online in 2020

11. Home delivery is the number one choice
of Hungarians
∕ Courier delivery (80%) has been the number one
choice of delivery for years
∕Pick-up points with personnel (38%) and postal
delivery (36%) are also popular
∕ The popularity of parcel machines (27%) is rising
steadily in recent years
11
80% 36%
38%
Source: Reacty Digtal e-commerce survey, VeVa online research community, March-April 2020.,
n=819 who shopped online in the previous year

12. Many people try ordering from abroad, but the
order frequency is declining
∕Half of online shoppers prefer domestic web
stores, though the proportion of those who have
already ordered from a foreign store is
increasing moderately (58%)
∕Ordering from abroad is more common among
men, younger people, and frequent online
shoppers
∕The three most popular foreign online stores are
in Hungary
∕ eBay (58%)
∕ AliExpress (49%)
∕ Wish (48%)
12
Source: Reacty Digtal e-commerce survey, VeVa online research community, March-April 2020.,
n=486 who shopped online in the previous year and tried a foreign webshop before

13. Hungarian e-commerce during the pandemic
∕ March is the „new Christmas” season: demand
for online shopping has rised significantly
∕ At the beginning of the epidemic, panic buying
due to uncertainty was common
∕ New product categories bought online
(eg. groceries, health products)
∕ Need for contactless delivery
∕ Cashless payment solutions have become more
popular
∕ Many have become insecure (at least
temporarily) about buying abroad
13

14. Future prospects of
e-commerce in Hungary
14

15. What is expected after quarantine
∕After the pandemic, most people would shop both
in physical and online stores
∕Older and low-income people are more likely to buy
everything in store in the future, while high-income
people and 18-29-year-olds are more inclined to go
online.
15
48% 16%
36%
Source: Reacty Digtal online survey, VeVa online research community, January 2021.,
n=818 who shopped online in 2020

16. Medium-term forecast
∕According to medium-term forecast of Reacty
Digital, Hungarian domestic e-retail turnover
may exceed €4.9 billion by 2024
16
Pessimistic
1,6x
Realistic
2,2x
Optimistic
2,4x
Expected growth by 2024
compared to 2019
Source: The medium-term, 5-year forecast of retail traffic volume is based on macroeconomic data
and Reacty Digital’s own micro-level research

17. Market entry in Hungary:
what to expect?
17

18. Cultural differences
∕ Payment on delivery is the most common form
of payment in Hungary while in most other
countries it is not even an option
18

19. Trusted payment company
∕Choosing a payment solution that is well
known and trusted locally is one of the key
features for success
19

20. Language is everything
∕Hungarian people prefer websites in their own
language
∕Hungarian speaking customer service is
expected
20

21. Price sensitive customers
∕Lower-income in Eastern Europe makes people
more price-sensitive but due to social
differences there is still a considerable solvent
demand
∕Hungarians do not like to pay for delivery 
free shipping (completely or above a certain
amount of order value) can be a successful
marketing tool
21

22. Price-comparison sites are popular
∕The majority of people (77%) checks price
comparison sites during online shopping
∕The most popular price-comparison websites in
2020 in Hungary were:
∕ Árukereső.hu (72%)
∕ Árgép.hu (58%)
∕ Olcsóbbat.hu (21%)
22
Source: Reacty Digtal e-commerce survey, VeVa online research community, March-April 2020.,
n=819 who shopped online in the previous year

23. Main players in Hungarian e-commerce
∕ Mostly Eastern-European multinational
companies rule the market instead of the global
giants like Amazon, for example:
∕ eDigital-eMAG
∕ Alza.hu
∕ Mall.hu
23

24. Strict consumer protection regulations
∕ Often more difficult to comply with Hungarian
consumer protection rules than in neighbouring
countries
∕ Customers need to be able to send back the
product easily if they are not satisfied or change
their minds
24

25. Organizations in Hungary
supporting e-commerce
companies
25

26. Ecommerce Hungary
∕ https://ecommerce.hu/
∕Founded in 2005 and currently under
reorganization in order to represent the
webshops more effectively (based on their
company size)
∕Ecommerce Hungary carries out professional
activities that help develop the Hungarian e-
commerce market, improve their legal
operation and operating conditions
∕The members of the association are
companies, institutions, organizations and
individuals for whom the development of e-
commerce is important for some reason
26
Source: Ecommerce Hungary website (2021) www.ecommerce.hu

27. MLBKT
∕ https://logisztika.hu/
∕ Association for Hungarian Logistics, Purchasing and
Inventory
∕ Founded in 1991, specializes in logistics and supply
chain issues
∕ They provide many ways to exchange experiences
and develop:
∕ access to professional materials
∕ meeting opportunities
∕ forums
∕ trainings
∕ company visits
27
Source: MLBKT website (2021) www.logisztika.hu

28. Interactive Advertising Bureau
(IAB Hungary)
∕ https://iab.hu
∕Member of IAB Europe, a trade association of 23
European member organizations and nearly 5000
companies represented in the field of digital and
interactive marketing
∕ IAB Hungary aims to increase awareness, use,
and acceptance of online, interactive, digital
marketing, and advertising tools and solutions
∕ Professional advocacy in domestic and
international forums, business, social and
governmental organizations
28
Source: IAB website (2021) www.iab.hu

29. We can help with…
29

30. … market entry
∕We do market entry research regularly including but
not limited to:
∕ Pre-market / or market entry exploration research
∕ Target group segmentation
∕ Identification of target groups’ demands
∕ Competitor analysis
∕ Product category and brand awareness surveys
∕Our previous clients were Auchan, Tesco and Spar
among others
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31. … market research in various topics
∕ Multiclient and ad hoc research in different
areas of e-commerce (supply side, demand
side, forecasting etc.)
∕ Consumer surveys in various topics via our VeVa
online research panel
31

32. … networking
∕Thanks to our team’s extensive work experience,
our connection network, and continuous
research, we know the Hungarian market and its
main players
∕We can help you connect with companies in
Hungary whether you are looking for logistics
firms, webshops, webshop developers, marketing
agencies, payment companies etc.
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33. Summary
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34. Key takeaways
∕ The Hungarian e-commerce market is growing
dynamically, especially due to the coronavirus
∕ By 2020, e-commerce increased significantly, the
turnover could exceed €3 billion
∕ Quarantine has brought Christmas demand in e-
commerce - with logistical challenges, contactless
shopping, and changing payment habits
∕ Background of the growth: consumers have shopped
online more often, from more categories and spent
more
∕ What to expect after quarantine: return to in-store
shopping, but online has strengthened compared to
the pre-epidemic era
∕ If you want to enter the market from abroad, you must
reckon with cultural differences: Hungarian language
(website and customer service), price sensitivity,
delivery preferences (e.g. cash on delivery)
∕ What Reacty can help with: research data, custom
market entry surveys, networking
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35. 35
Róbert Pintér PhD
Reacty Digital
| Corvinus University of Budapest
Business Development Director
| Assistant professor
+36 30 999 65 95
robert.pinter@reacty.digital