Online trade (e-commerce) in Bosnia and Herzegovina records rapid growth. The latest data from the last and in the beginning of this year show that it is no longer a side effect, nor the occasional alternative to traditional purchase, but is an integral part of the daily life of BiH citizens.
In addition to being recorded the growth of the overall value of Internet Sales, the customer base is spreading, but also increases the number of transactions. Special emphasizes the swing of domestic web shops and all broader acceptance of card payment.
Card transactions reached 186 million KM
According to the Central Bank of BiH (CBBH), the value of Internet card transactions in 2024. was 815,495,300 KM, approximately 25% more than in 2023. years (651,723,614 km). The total number of card transactions last year reached 186 million, while internet payments make up approximately four percent of the total card traffic.
“If a broader e-commerce market, including the payments of the Ecommerce News Europe show that the total value of the KM last year) is still going through a cache, although the orders are increasingly made through digital channels,” BELMA AGIĆ, Executive Director of the Ecommerce Association in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In addition to the growth of traffic, AGIĆ adds, the expansion of the offer is also visible. The assessment, says that in the country currently operates more than 3,700 registered active web shops, and according to the third national e-commerce survey conducted by Ecommerce Association in BiH in April this year, more than 40% were initiated in the last two years.
“It is a clear signal how fast the market grows and how much entrepreneurs turn on online channels,” Agic said.
In two years doubled online consumption
According to the same study, more than 94 percent of respondents said that in the previous three months, at least one online shopping was carried out. Most often, these were two to three orders (41.2 percent), but the so-called growth is separated. “Intense users” – those who purchased more than ten times in the same period. The survey has also shown that as many as 83.4 percent of citizens use mobile phones for online orders, which indicates how many mobile experience has become a key digital trade channel.
“In only two years, online consumption in BiH increased from 448 million KM in 2022, 815 million KM in 2024, while the total market volume exceeds a billion marks.
Online shopping is already a standard for hundreds of thousands of citizens, but considering only a small portion, its full potential is yet to be used, “says BiH is in the threshold of the key phase of digital transformation in trade, with all the challenges for growth.
Online buyers from BiH are expected most often ordering clothes that make up 14.1% of all online purchases, footwear is secondly from 8.8%, followed by electronics (7.8%). A similar share also have household appliances and household items (7.4%). A significant share in online purchases also have jewelry, clocks, and cosmetics and personalities (5.2%), which confirms the benefits of the consumer without the physical departure of the store, today is increasingly ordered by one click. Stabilne shares also hold computer equipment (5%), while specialized segments such as automotive products (3.4%), furniture and decor (3.3%), show that the market is expanding and becoming more diverse.
Online shopping in BiH is no longer limited to occasional orders of clothing or electronics, says Agić.
“Today, he is buying almost everything – from little things like cosmetics and books, to big articles like white technique, furniture, and even car parts,” she says.
Data fragmented
Ecommerce Association in BiH, three years in a row, implements comprehensive research in the e-commerce market in our country, which has helped create a clear image market.
And while the domestic market records growth, at the same time facing the challenges; BiH is not yet a centralized system that would accurately accompany the amounts of online transactions, as institutions in the countries of the region do.
“This does not mean that the data is not, but that they are fragmented, we rely on the information we receive from our members, the Payment of our members. We publish public, “Agic explains and adds:
“On the basis of everything is available, it is clear that the online store is still going on in millions and to develop faster, and in the business environment, and the Internet is already shown that online purchases become equally important, and also dominant in relation to traditional retail.
What are the possibility of saving
One of the most important, and perhaps the least prominent advantages of online shopping are savings. The possibility of the rapid comparison of the offer of various traders creates natural pressure on the competitiveness of prices compared to classical retail. However, real savings are often “invisible” immediately on the account, but they feel in everyday life and it can best be seen in the not spending time to go to trade, not paying fuel, parking and similar expenses.
There are no longer enough classic discounts
To increase customer loyalty but also the value of our interlocutors, online traders are no longer relying on classical incentives, where the customer is returned to the Ice subscribers, which offer free and faster delivery, exclusive offers or access to additional services, then Personalized offers, gamification of purchase, also Early Access and Limited Edition offers, which create a sense of exclusivity, while bunting offers and freebies give additional value without reducing the item price.
“Unfortunately, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, such models are not yet broadly relied on occasional discounts are not in itself, but also a long-term confidence-making relationship. When such models become standard and we will be able to talk about complete transforming consumer experience, “says Agić.
What awaits us?
All indicators suggest that BiH stand on the threshold of the key phase of digital transformation in trade. Online shopping that rose from 448 million KM in just two years at over 1 billion KM will not stop.
The key question is not whether the online store in BiH is to develop, it is already inevitable. The question is whether to develop in a way that is maximally exploited by all actors, including consumers who want a better experience and greater savings, as well as entrepreneurs who want to easily access the market, and the economy as a whole that can profit from digitization. It is only certain that maybe for the first time in the last few decades of BiH, I would be in a position not to be late for global trends, they are already actively following them.
