eCommerce market in Croatia

Croatia is the 70th largest market for eCommerce with a predicted revenue of US$882.2 million by 2024, placing it ahead of Iceland. Revenue is expected to show a compound annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2028) of 7.7%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$1,186.5 million by 2028. With an expected increase of 8.5% in 2024, the Croatian eCommerce market contributed to the worldwide growth rate of 7.4% in 2024. Like in Croatia, global eCommerce sales are expected to increase over the next years. Seven markets are considered by ECDB within the Croatian eCommerce market. Hobby & Leisure is the largest market and accounts for 26.2% of the Croatian eCommerce revenue. It is followed by Electronics with 21.3%, Fashion with 17.7%, Furniture & Homeware with 11.8%, DIY with 9.0%, Care Products with 8.3%, and Grocery with the remaining 5.7%.

The online share refers to the proportion of the retail volume that is transacted via the Internet. It includes purchases via desktop PC, tablet or smartphone, both via website or app. Only retail of physical goods is taken into account. In the Croatian retail market, the online share is 7.2% and will increase by an average of 8.7% to 10.1% by 2028.

The biggest player in the Croatian eCommerce market is ekupi.hr. The store had a revenue of US$59.8 million in 2023. Store rankings include every store that generates revenue in Croatia. These stores can either have a national focus and only sell in their main country or operate on a global scale. For this evaluation, only revenue created in Croatia was considered.

With 92.2% VISA the most commonly offered payment method of all online stores in the Croatian eCommerce market in 2023. Like VISA Mastercard with a share of 91.5% and Diners Club with a share of 70.9% the payment type Cards is the most common used by online retailers in in the Croatian eCommerce market in 2023. Other commonly used payment methods in that market are Cash on delivery (Cash on delivery) with 75.9% and Bank transfer/cash in advance (Bank transfer) with 53.9% of stores offering that payment method to the clients.

Despite GLS's dominant position with 56.0% of online stores opting for its services, the Croatian eCommerce market in 2023 remains diverse and competitive. Several other shipping service providers, including Hrvatska pošta, DPD, Overseas Express, and Gebrüder Weiss, hold smaller but significant shares, contributing to a dynamic and fragmented market.

Although WooCommerce holds a commanding lead with 24.2% of online stores using the shop software solution, the Croatian eCommerce market in 2023 remains vibrant and competitive. This is due to the presence of several other shop software solutions, including Magento, Shopify, PrestaShop, and OpenCart, which collectively hold a significant share of the market.