Ahead of Black Friday, 73.74% of Romanians report that they do not trust product and service recommendations from influencers, according to a study conducted by Prora through the iVox Research platform on a nationally representative sample of 1,043 respondents.
Furthermore, 55.62% of respondents require a product to have more than 10 reviews before considering an online purchase, while 17.15% feel assured with 5-10 reviews. For 11.92%, it’s important that a product has 3-5 reviews, and 5.52% are satisfied with just 1-3 reviews, while 9.79% say the number of reviews holds no importance for them.
“Currently, Black Friday promotion communication is largely dominated by online retailers and platforms. This study aimed to capture the consumer perspective, revealing trends that reflect market maturity and a preference for informed purchasing decisions—such as the preference for 10 or more reviews before buying—as well as some surprising expectations, like three in ten respondents wanting free shipping regardless of order value,” stated Silviu Nicolescu, founder of Prora Communication.
Opinions vary on email notification frequency for online store promotions: 32.85% feel that once a week is enough, 30.72% want notifications for each update, 22.77% prefer no more than one email per month, and 13.66% do not wish to receive any correspondence.
Courier Services Rated an 8
Asked to rate courier services in Romania on a scale of 1 to 10, 30.81% of respondents give a rating of 8, where 1 is the lowest and 10 is the highest score. Another 20.54% rated it 7, 18.51% rated it 9, and 11.34% awarded a full 10. Passing grades of 6 and 5 were given by 6.2% and 5.72% of respondents, respectively, while ratings between 1 and 4 were chosen by only 1-2% of participants.
For 41.67% of Romanians, free shipping should apply for orders above 100 lei, while 30.62% believe it should be free regardless of order value. A further 9.69% prefer free shipping for orders between 101-150 lei, 8.04% for orders of 151-200 lei, and 9.98% for orders above 200 lei.
Products are most frequently returned due to unmet specifications, with 48.26% choosing this option. The second most common reason is an incorrect size, for 33.62% of respondents. Late or damaged products accounted for 13.86% of returns, 3.49% admitted they simply changed their mind, and 0.78% noted they had already used the item and no longer needed it.
The study offers a detailed insight into online consumer purchasing behaviors, highlighting trends and preferences in eCommerce. The data collection method used was CAWI—Computer Assisted Web Interviewing, conducted via the iVox Research online platform. The study sample of 1,043 respondents closely reflects the socio-demographic structure of Romania’s adult internet user population, with results being generalizable with a minimal margin of error.
In terms of socio-demographics, 52.92% of respondents were male, and 89.36% reside in urban areas. Additionally, 77.11% of respondents are currently employed.