The Success of Online Shopping is Unbroken - This is Why Hungarians Choose Shopping Online

The last two years have seen a surge in the popularity of online shopping in Hungary. H-MAG has carried out a representative survey to find out who, what and why they buy on online marketplaces: 89% of the Hungarian population spend at least a few times a year on marketplaces, and more than a third of them shop on the sites every month or even several times a week. The most popular product categories Hungarians love to shop are consumer electronics, gifts, clothing, and household goods.

The survey also revealed what attracts shoppers to online marketplaces: nearly two thirds of respondents visit the sites because of the large product range, and 30% like the fact that they have access to products from domestic SMEs as well as large manufacturers. A further third of respondents prefer to buy from digital marketplaces rather than online shops because of the better delivery times.

The pandemic has brought about an unprecedented change in the shopping habits of the population, with a surge in sales through online and e-commerce channels, which are already growing in popularity. H-MAG conducted a representative survey of the online shopping habits of the Hungarian population, with a special focus on online marketplaces, two years on.

What does surveys say?

The survey revealed that the most popular online platforms among shoppers are domestic and foreign online shops, where 74% of respondents spend their money. Online marketplaces are in third place with 38 percent, followed by buy-and-sell groups (36 percent), online shops in the Far East (26 percent) and classifieds are still popular with almost a quarter of respondents. Among online shoppers, there is a roughly even split between one, two, three and four or more platforms. The survey shows that the proportion of people browsing online marketplaces is higher among men, aged 30-49 and living in cities.

The questionnaire also asked what Hungarians buy and how often. Around a sixth of shoppers typically buy every few weeks, almost 20% buy monthly, and the highest proportion, 53%, buy a few times a year. A further 8 per cent shop less frequently and 2 per cent never shop online. Among product groups, consumer electronics is the most popular, with 62% of shoppers buying from online marketplaces. Gifts (57 percent) are the second most popular item, with fashion and clothing (49 percent) in third place. Although food and everyday items have not been available on the various sites as long as electronics, 15 percent of shoppers still buy these products online.

According to Simon Nándora, who is in charge of the research department of the Hungarian branch of the InternationalSEO.agency, which evaluated the survey results, online shopping stores in Hungary are expected to break a record in 2023 with an increase of 70% compared to 2022. This will lead to increased competition in the Hungarian market, which in turn will revitalize the marketing sector in Hungary. “The changing consumer habits in Hungary have led many foreigners to invest in establishing online businesses in our country. And this will increase even more significantly in the coming years. Due to these changes in the Hungarian market, we have made changes in our team and added new local Hungarian SEO experts to our team in order to become the leading Hungarian SEO Agency." adds Simon.

Wide choice is the biggest advantage

In the representative survey, the shop also asked the public what they perceive as the benefits of online marketplaces. The main reason cited by most respondents was the greater choice (61 percent), but the availability of different product categories (56 percent) and a diverse range of manufacturers (55 percent) also appealed to online shoppers. More than a third of respondents said it was useful to be able to tailor delivery to their needs, and 30% also particularly liked the fact that smaller, even family-run, companies, in addition to large companies, also offer products from smaller, even domestic, family-run businesses in online marketplaces.

The questionnaire also asked about any negative experiences with the platform. More than half of the marketplace shoppers did not have any bad experiences. However, for more than half of those who did (46%), the product that arrived was not exactly what they expected from the advertisement. Non-arrival of products and delivery delays were a problem for nearly 40% of respondents who reported a problem, while damaged products, insufficient product information and unavailable customer service were the complaints of around a third of those who had experienced problems.

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