NMHH: The previous growth rate of online shopping has stalled

Although online shopping continues to play a significant role in retail, the sector’s previously experienced growth has stalled. According to KSH data, from 2009 to 2021, the total value of goods sold on the Internet increased year by year faster than the total retail trade. In 2022, however, the long upward trend was interrupted, and then last year it continued to deteriorate.
According to NMHH research, in 2023, 80 percent of Hungarian Internet users bought at least one product online. The most, 47 percent, were clothes or shoes, followed by health-related products and food and beverages.

Between 2021 and 2023, the expenditure per purchase did not decrease, and in fact, based on the customers’ estimates, the amount paid on an occasion increased significantly for almost all of the 14 product groups examined. The largest basket value increase was for food and beverages: for example, an online grocery purchase went from HUF 9,000 to HUF 16,000, which is understandable given the extreme food inflation experienced during the period. A similar price increase can be observed for household cleaning products and chemicals.