Courier services become more expensive, and competition between online stores becomes even fiercer: Innoship

Courier services expect imminent price increases amid rising inflation and rising fuel, gas and electricity prices, according to an analysis by Innoship, a technology company that has developed a global delivery management solution for online stores.

In this context, the e-Commerce market will go through a period of increased pressure in the context of rising prices for related services.

The fight to remain competitive in the online environment will become even more intense in the second half of 2022.

While some courier companies are considering maintaining fixed point delivery rates at the current level, other couriers have not yet made a decision in this regard.

According to the estimates of the Romanian Association of Online Stores (ARMO), the Romanian e-commerce sector reached the threshold of 6.2 billion euros at the end of 2021, by about 10 percent more than in 2020, when the value of online commerce was estimated at 5, 6 billion euros.

However, growth was slightly below the initial forecast expected by the end of the year – 15 percent growth and online sales of € 6.5 billion.

“In the current economic context, full of various price increases, online stores will gain a competitive advantage by maintaining an optimal balance between a shipping cost of as low as possible and a performance of delivery as good as expected,” said Viorela Lucescu, Head of Marketing & Growth Innoship.

The competition will become fiercer online. According to the latest Eurostat report published in January 2022, 88 percent of Romanians used the Internet at least once in 2021, up from 85 percent in 2020.

44 percent of internet users made at least one online purchase in 2021, the percentage being 1 percent lower than in 2020, but – overall – the number of online shoppers has increased, given the growth of the internet base.

According to Innoship’s analysis, the shopping experience will make a difference in the marketplace. Competitive online stores are those that have managed to invest in technologies that improve customer perception and meet their dynamic needs.