Aqurate, a SaaS platform based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), launches Aqurate Map 2023, a study now in its third edition, which analyzes the competitiveness of Romanian eCommerce stores, and according to the recorded data, the Electronics category dominates the market authoritatively, with 45 million monthly visits, at the end of May.
At considerable distance is the second place of the podium, the Fashion area, which registers 12.5 million monthly visits. Without eMag, the biggest player in the category, the Electronics area would remain in the lead with only a small lead and a total of 13.7 million monthly visits.
According to the research, the traffic generated by e-mail remains at a low level, of only 2% of the total in domestic eCommerce, but it has doubled in weight compared to 2022. Although in 2022 the increase in the percentage of paid traffic was 24% compared to 2021, in 2023 the evolution was minor, and the volume of paid traffic stabilized at an average of 20% of the total.
The quality of purchase recommendations from website pages increased, across the entire market, by 16%. The biggest increases were in Electronics, 43%, Baby & Kids, 31%, and Home, 29%. The evolution is a result of online stores investing in effective recommendation engines and optimizing product pages.
The situation of stores in each analyzed category
Electronics: The category with the highest traffic volume is led by eMAG, the leader with the highest scores for both digital presence and digital maturity. Altex follows, at a distance, in second position. Compared to last year, there is an increase in the number of players in the Challengers quadrant, of which the newest entrant, Vexio.ro, replaces Media Galaxy. PC Garage and evoMAG maintain their position in the Innovators quadrant.
Fashion: A new competitor appears in the category, modivo.ro, while last year’s players have maintained their presence in the analysis, with slightly different intra-category positions. It is worth noting that in 2023 there are five leaders, including FashionDays, epantofi.ro, ABOUT YOU, bonprix.ro and Sinsay. A notable change is that the digital maturity of epantofi.ro propels the online store from among the Conservatives directly into the Leaders quadrant.
Cosmetics: The category experienced a change, with the entry of two new players, NailsUp.ro and KitUnghii.ro, which replaced the presence of Oriflame. While Notino maintains its leadership position, excelling in both digital presence and digital maturity, MAKEUP emerges as a strong competitor in close proximity.
House: In 2023, the category shows a clear polarization, with four players positioned in the Leaders quadrant and another four in the Challengers quadrant. The leader continues to be IKEA, closely followed by Mobexpert, JYSK and VidaXL. In the Challengers quadrant, the two players at the bottom end in terms of score are newcomers The Home and videnov.ro. The change also indicates increased competitiveness in the market, which is leading to the replacement of Vivre from the list.
Book: There have been significant changes in the category, generated by the appearance of three new competitors: Printrecarti.ro, bookzone.ro and librariaonline.ro have replaced Litera.ro and Libraria Delfin, indicating a noteworthy change in the digital presence. The leader remains Elefant, since 2021. Compared to 2022, Libris and Carturesti are in the conservative quadrant, with a lower digital maturity, but close to returning to the Leaders category.
Products for children and babies: Compared to the other companies included in the study, stores in this category have little online traffic. The leader is Noriel, closely followed by BebeTei, who is still part of the Conservatives quadrant. In the Innovators category, Next.ro has kept its position since 2022, while BabyMatters is a newcomer that replaces the presence of Bebebliss. The Challengers category, with less digital maturity, includes BabyNeeds, Nichiduta and BestKids.
Pet shop: In this year’s map, the leader is zooplus.ro. Although PetMart.ro, Conservator, and Pet Max, Innovator, show potential for growth, there are still gaps to cover, to enter the Leader category. Maxi Pet, pentruanimale.ro and Animax are in the Challengers quadrant and are characterized by relatively lower levels of digital presence and digital maturity.