Online retail is growing significantly as well as the overall sales of non-food items. The absence of global leaders and the noticeable number of Bulgarians shopping online make Sofia and Bulgaria a great place for testing new business models in e-commerce.
Retail
Online Retail in Bulgaria
35%
growth in 2018,
additional 30% expected in 2019
1.36
bn BGN revenue in 2018,
1.75 bn BGN expected in 2019
1.46
mil people shopped online in 2018
or 21% of the population
922
BGN is the average
annual shopping cart
24.3%
of the economically active
population in Southwestern region
shopped online in 2018
Source: Eurostat, Ecommerce Europe
What do Bulgarian internet users buy online?
76%
buy clothes and sports goods
33%
buy household goods
21%
buy hotel and trip reservations
16%
order event tickets
14%
buy foods
Source: Eurostat
What websites do Bulgarians order from?
87.5%
buy from Bulgarian online stores
35.3%
use online stores in other EU countries
17.2%
buy online from third countries
Source: NSI
Brick & Mortar Retail
11.1
bn BGN Bulgarian FMCG market in 2018
400 000
m2 area of the 10 largest shopping malls in Sofia
32-39
EUR/m2 rental prices in the shopping malls
7.25%
ROI in Sofia’s retail property
Source: leading real estate agencies for Q4, 2018, economic.bg
