Greeks lead in e-shopping abroad
Greeks have the highest rate among all Europeans in online purchases from other countries
Seven out of eight Greek consumers make purchases from international online stores, with this percentage being – according to the PayPal eCommerce Index 2022 – the highest in Europe.
International profiles are gradually being acquired by Greeks who choose to make purchases via the internet, as, in addition to giving their vote of confidence to domestic online stores, they also look outside the country, with 87% making cross-border transactions.
At the same time, 28% of the turnover of Greek e-shops comes from abroad. The Greeks emerge as having the most internationalized shopping profile among Europeans, followed by the Irish with 83%, the Germans with 82% and the Israelis in fourth place as the most fanatical e-shoppers from abroad with 79%.
Overall, the average number of Europeans who buy from online stores abroad comes to 74%, according to 2022 figures.
Cost and variety are the main motivators for Greeks preferring to make online purchases from companies based outside the country. In particular, the incentives that lead them to online shopping abroad are mainly better prices (56%), as well as access to a wider range of items (42%).
In addition, one in three (35%) answer that they choose to shop from online stores abroad because they have the opportunity to discover new interesting products, which they did not know existed.
Although Greeks hold the title of the most fanatical Europeans in online shopping abroad, a significant portion of consumers are still hesitant to buy products from a foreign country, as 21% of Greeks say that the main reason they do not buy from abroad is because they think the business will not ship products to Greece. Another 31% admit they have left a purchase from a foreign site incomplete because its payment method did not satisfy them.
Of course, one of the main obstacles is the key factor of security, which concerns the lack of consumer confidence in certain foreign marketplaces. Almost one in three Greeks cite that as the main reason for not shopping online from stores outside Greece.
