According to a survey commissioned by the international parcel delivery company Venipak, 54% of 18–40 year olds in Lithuania say that they are more likely to shop in physical stores after the pandemic restrictions have been lifted, however they will also continue to shop online. This is also the opinion of 52% of Latvians and 54% of Estonians surveyed. The Latvians say they are most likely to shop online at least a few times a month (29% of respondents). In Latvia and Estonia, 29% and 34% of respondents respectively agree with this statement.
„We asked consumers whether they will continue to shop online as normal, i.e. after the pandemic. Mobility trends show that employees are still happy to work from home or even from another city, say the seaside. We expected that online shopping would also have become the new norm. The survey partly confirmed our prediction. We see that only 15% of the respondents said that they had recently shopped online only because of the pandemic, avoiding unnecessary contacts. On the other hand, consumers now feel that they have a choice of where to buy – online or in a physical store – and they are using this prevalence to their advantage, so e-retailers should listen to their consumers’ opinions,“ explains Venipak CMO Asta Raudonienė.
Expect discounts and a wide selection
The study shows that shoppers expect to find a wider choice of products in e-shops. Lower prices or more frequent discounts would also motivate them to shop online more often. As many as 71% of Lithuanians, 66% of Latvians, and 69% of Estonians in the survey said this.
„We see that people would buy more online if they knew they would get a lower price. The consumer experience when shopping in e-shops is a further priority. That is, how easily and intuitively the customer can navigate the site, whether they can filter in detail the relevant products, how long the ordering process takes, which delivery methods they can choose, etc. Naturally, the speed of delivery is still important – 44% of Lithuanians, 32% of Latvians, and 41% of Estonians expect to receive their parcels sooner,“ comments A. Raudonienė.
According to the expert, e-commerce businesses should invest in advertising, more active discount communication, and improving the consumer experience. „For example, the choice of how to collect goods. We notice that smaller businesses, in particular, only have one option for picking up a parcel – courier delivery to the home or parcel drop off points. Meanwhile, customers have different life circumstances and increasingly want to be able to choose which way their parcel reaches them faster,“ she says.
According to the survey, Lithuanians most often buy clothes and footwear online (51%, 57% in Latvia, 46% in Estonia), electronic goods (48%, 55% in Latvia, 57% in Estonia), and household, hygiene and beauty products (40%, 41% in Latvia, 50% in Estonia). The least frequent online purchases by Baltic residents are alcohol, collectables, and animal food.
A representative survey of the population in the Baltic States was conducted by Norstat in May 2022. The survey was commissioned by the international parcel company Venipak.