PCs and home appliances, online best-sellers

The business-to-consumer (B2C) electronic commerce in Romania amounts to approximately $2 million this year, according to estimates of top players. They anticipate an upward trend for 2003, but the development of Romanian virtual stores is hindered by the lack of modern payment methods, banking cards especially. Turnover registered by the main virtual stores is at least 100% higher this year compared to 2001, according to the managers of these stores. The Romanian electronic commerce market has changed a great deal in 2002, as well. Whereas IT equipment dealer Flamingo Computers remained among the top online vendors, MagazinulTau.ro, the e-commerce division of rival BestComputers, surfaced as a powerful competitor. Launched in late last year, MagazinulTau.ro only needed 12 months to top the “E-commerce” category of the www.trafic.ro website, which monitors online traffic. Flamingo estimates online sales to amount to $600,000 this year, that is approximately 3% of the total sales of the Flamingo retail chain in 2002 and expects to make even more by the end of 2002. MagazinulTau.ro, which sells computer parts, sports items, electronics, home appliances and perfumes registered $300,000 in sales in the first eleven months of the year. Sales are anticipated to exceed $150,000 in December alone, considering that the orders received in the first ten days of the month amounted to some $80,000, according to Jean Rusu, general manager of the virtual store. ZF