- Christmas is the most popular period of electronic cross-border shopping on a more systematic basis for 40% of Greek online shoppers
- Greek cross-border consumers buy clothing and fashion accessories more often (69%), but on the other hand spend more money on travel and transportation (588 euros on average)
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X PayPalThe Black Friday and Cyber Monday are becoming more and more popular among Greek consumers - these days e-shopping increased by 50% and over 20% on an annual basis in 2017, compared to the corresponding numbers in 2016. The most important category for its markets' Black Friday 'in 2017 was the clothing and the specific volume of purchases during these discounts was almost 4 times higher than the annual average. Traditionally, attractive bidding days have been associated with cross-border trade, but domestic players also seem to be showing good results: as long as Black Friday lasts, over 32% of the expenses in Greece through PayPal end up in local merchants.
As we move towards this year's holiday season, the PayPal and Ipsos publish interesting facts about the habits of Greeks buying from abroad. 83% of Greek adults who participated in the survey made at least one online purchase during the 12 months under evaluation. Christmas is the preferred occasion for more frequent cross-border shopping, according to 40% of Greek cross-border shoppers, but at the same time almost 4 in 10 Greeks do not need a special occasion or occasion to shop from a foreign e-shop in more regular basis.
We buy clothes more often, but we spend more on travel
From abroad, Greek e-shoppers mainly buy clothing, footwear and fashion accessories (69%), consumer electronics (64%), toys and hobbies (51%), as well as jewelry / watches (46%). However, if we take into account the absolute value of the purchases, we spend more money on travel and transportation (588 euros on average), consumer electronics (277 euros) and car parts (275 euros). The 5 most popular destinations of cross-border markets to which Greeks turn are China, the United Kingdom, the USA, Germany and Italy.
Η Giela Abdelwahab, Consumer Development Manager, PayPal CEE, stated:
"First of all, do not forget that the period of offers and discounts is the most suitable for the purchase of branded collections / designer brands, as you can then get even the newest Chanel bag, without spending a fortune. However, it is always good to compare prices from different websites. For this reason, I appreciate the ability to see prices in local currency at a glance, so that I can easily understand what items are available for my wallet. Equally important to me when shopping online is the professional return policy. If I decide to buy shoes from the USA, I do not even want to think about how expensive the shipping costs will be if I have to return them, because it just will not be the right number"
The online fears of the Greeks
More than half of Greek online shoppers (53%) predict that the amount they generally spend on online shopping will continue to increase. 76% of them admit that they like the convenience of online shopping, 33% speculate that shipping costs will become cheaper, while 28% intend to increase the personal budget of online shopping, due to any change in disposable income.
In the case of home shopping, almost half of Greek online consumers (46%) express concerns about shipping costs and 39% say that overall costs make shopping unattractive.
About PayPal & Ipsos Cross-Border Consumer Survey 2018
On behalf of PayPal, Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of approximately 1.000-2.000 (34.052 in total) adults (aged 18 and over) using internet-connected devices in each of the 31 countries surveyed (USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Austria, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, , South Africa, India, China, Japan Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Philippines). The interviews took place online between March 13 and May 1, 2018. Of the 34.052 respondents, 30.698 were online shoppers (they had made at least one online purchase via desktop / laptop / notebook / smartphone or tablet), of which 16.706 were considered cross-border buyers.
These interviews in Greece were conducted between March 29 - April 17, 2018, among a sample of 1.000 people. Of the 1.000 interviewees, 926 were online shoppers (having made at least one online purchase via desktop / laptop / notebook / smartphone or tablet), of whom 622 were considered cross-border shoppers.
The data were weighted across countries in order to adjust to the biases of the teams based on external data and trends, depending on the case and the frequency of online shoppers per country.
