In 2025, Bulgarian online merchants reported a market that is growing, but far from “easy money.” The “State of eCommerce in Bulgaria in 2025, a study by the Balkan eCommerce Summit 2025” shows moderate revenue growth, strong dependence on paid social advertising, limited international expansion, and serious gaps in accessibility and cybersecurity.
Throughout the first nine months of 2025, the Balkan eCommerce Summit team conducted a detailed survey among online merchants with respondents from 5 countries, including Bulgaria. The goal was to understand the year-on-year changes in revenue for these businesses, what technologies they use, which sales channels work best, and how customer habits are changing. As part of the study, we collected quantitative data, as well as qualitative comments from owners and managers of online stores. This country-specific analysis summarises the most important findings from the survey and outlines the key trends, risks, and opportunities for Bulgarian eCommerce in 2026. You can download the full report here.
Market Dynamics: Moderate Growth, Few Big Losers
The e-commerce industry in Bulgaria covers more than simply f
- Roughly half of businesses either grew in 2025 (often in the 5–20% range year‑on‑year) or kept revenues stable in comparison to 2024.
- Steep declines above 20% are concentrated mainly among the smallest merchants and affect a minority of the entrepreneurs.
In short, eCommerce businesses in Bulgaria are not merely trying to find their footing anymore. The market is maturing, with moderate growth where survival depends on more professional marketing and stronger operational discipline.
Technology Stack: Low‑to‑Mid Spend on Tools, High Spend on Ads
Most Bulgarian eCommerce businesses operate on a low‑to-mid‑budget technology stack. Their businesses have three main infrastructure points:
- Close to 60% spend less than 2,000 BGN per month on their eCommerce platform and related tools. High infrastructure costs above 10,000 BGN per month are rarer with only 12.6% of businesses investing solidly into their infrastructure.
- Meanwhile, eCommerce businesses have a dominant mobile strategy: over 80% rely only on a mobile‑optimized website. Progressive web apps and standalone mobile apps are almost exceptions in the market.
- Their final element of the eCommerce infrastructure in Bulgaria falls under the “Inventory and fulfillment management” role which is split between two worlds: about half use automated systems, while almost as many still rely on manual processes and basic tools. Third‑party fulfillment is used by a relatively small segment of more mature players.
The pattern is clear: infrastructure is built on systems which are on the “cheaper” side so long as they’re also “good enough” for most of the market. Bulgarian eCommerce businesses rely heavily on the popularity of tools, seeking what’s a “safe-bet” in comparison to taking risks and going after more innovative solutions.
Marketing: Facebook Rules All and Content Is Underfunded
Marketing is highly polarized and heavily dependent on paid channels:
- Social media advertising is by far the number one revenue driver for Bulgarian e-commerce businesses. More than half of the respondents say it brings them their largest percentage of shares.
- When asked which social network performs best, over three quarters name Facebook. Instagram and TikTok still play niche roles as direct sales drivers. E-mail is also extremely underrated as a revenue channel with only 5% attributing it as a major source of revenue.
- For businesses with revenue under 100,000 BGN, social media advertising dominates most strongly and drives the most sales for approximately 60–65% of them.
- In the 100,000 to 500,000 BGN segment, social media remains the leading channel, but the share of direct traffic and Google Ads grows and reaches around 40% combined.
- For businesses with revenue above 500,000 BGN, better diversification is observed, with SEO and direct traffic together reaching approximately 30–35%.
- Google Ads, direct traffic, and SEO are important, especially for larger and more mature businesses, but they sit behind social advertising in perceived impact.
- Ad budgets are sharply segmented:
- More than one third spend under 2,000 BGN per month, typically the ones whose revenue reflects the smaller budget;
- Next up is a fairly large group (roughly 30.7%) which invests between 2,000 and 10,000 BGN,
- Finally, we have roughly a quarter of the businesses, the largest of the players who seem to live by the phrase “you need to spend money to make money” and who invest 10,000+ BGN per month on ads.
At the same time, content as an investment area is clearly underdeveloped:
- For more than 70% of businesses, the content budget is either under 2,000 BGN or does not exist as a dedicated line item at all.
- High content budgets above 10,000 BGN per month are rare and mostly limited to the largest of merchants.
The paradox: many businesses spend heavily on paid traffic, but do not invest systematically in content, which gradually erodes the effectiveness of those paid channels. eCommerce businesses don’t seem to be seeing the benefits of a social media following yet and prefer to invest in ads for short-term revenue spikes.
AI Adoption: Everyone Uses It for Copy, Few Use It for Real Automation
AI is already part of the daily toolkit of most online merchants, but mainly as a productivity shortcut, not as a genuine deep transformation tool:
- Generative AI for content is the most widely used AI solution. It is the clear leader among AI use cases in the survey.
- Around one third use AI for data analysis and forecasting, and an even smaller share rely on AI for ad automation and customer service chatbots.
- Between roughly 15–20% do not use AI tools at all, especially among smaller businesses – a surprising finding given that it’s one of the cheapest tools they’d be able to implement for the largest return on time-saved.
Overall, AI is present but mostly at a “surface level”: widely used for texts and visuals, much less for analytics, automation, or customer experience at scale. Reasons for this include a lack of trust in AI tools as well as lack of education on the matter. The simplest way of introducing the technology into a business is through Gen AI currently, so that can be seen as one of the largest reasons why it’s so prolific amongst businesses regardless of their size.
Customer Behavior: Cheaper, Faster, Better… and More Mobile
Our research paints not only a picture of Bulgarian eCommerce Businesses, but also of their customers who are both more demanding and more cautious in 2025 and 2026:
- The strongest trend is rising price sensitivity: customers actively hunt for discounts and promotions and withhold making purchases even months in advance of large sales such as the Black Friday discounts.
- Almost as strong is the expectation for faster delivery and better service. Less so of it being a trait clients get impressed by anymore but mistakes are quickly noticed and not easily forgotten. Logistics is now part of the marketing promise and needs flawless execution.
- Around a third of responses point to customers who are not only primarily mobile, but expect a more personalized experience year-on-year, especially the clients of larger eCommerce businesses.
At the same time, operational metrics look relatively healthy for Bulgarian eCommerce Brands:
- For more than three quarters of merchants, unclaimed orders (orders never picked up by customers) are below 5%.
- Returns after acceptance are also low: over 80% of businesses report return rates under 5%.
So while customers are tougher on price and service, they do not massively punish merchants with cancellations and returns. This suggests a reasonably good match between expectations and actual delivered experience. This however also points to the importance of your logistical infrastructure. Poor product handling from warehouse to end user could be detrimental.
Operations: The Main Pain Is Not Logistics, It’s Demand Generation
When asked about their biggest operational challenge however, online merchants are remarkably aligned:
- “Customer acquisition and marketing” is named by around two thirds as their primary challenge. This can be seen by the ever-increasing investment in ads, however the lack of investment in content and sustainable growth practices shows how this challenge will remain prevalent year-on-year especially for lower revenue companies.
- Logistics and delivery come second, but at roughly half the intensity. Even though the importance of it is high, the urgency of this specific challenge is far less prevalent.
- Issues like payments, fraud, ERP, product design, and staff training show up as niche concerns for small subsets of the sample.
The tension is classic for a maturing market: running an online store that technically works is no longer the hard part; generating a sustainable flow of new customers at a reasonable cost is.
International Expansion and the Euro: Local First, Careful Steps Abroad
On cross‑border expansion and the introduction of the euro, the picture seems cautious:
- 44% do not sell outside Bulgaria at all, and an almost additional 30% have less than 10% of their customers abroad. Only a few of the largest eCommerce players dare to venture beyond the borders of Bulgaria. This does go to show though that in terms of generating revenue for most businesses – the local market, deemed small by some is still an excellent location with vast possibilities for a very steady income stream.
Plans for 2026 are mostly local‑first: almost half intend to focus on growing in the Bulgarian market before looking abroad – keeping the trend as is. Expansion across neighboring Balkan countries is the most common “next step,” while broader European or global expansion is primarily on the agenda of larger players. Romania, Greece, Serbia, and the likes are the closest trading partners. Expectations around the introduction of the euro are neutral to mildly positive:
- The largest group of respondents expects little to no impact,
- A substantial share sees the benefits of this transition foreseeing easier transactions and pricing,
- A minority of the business owners fear negative effects from transition costs and temporary customer confusion, especially during January 2026 where businesses ought to still accept payments in both Bulgarian Lev and in Euro.
Accessibility and Cybersecurity: The Sector’s Blind Spots
Two areas clearly stand out as weak points in the ecosystem:
- Accessibility (for people with disabilities)
- Over one third of businesses are not familiar with accessibility requirements at all.
- Almost another third say they are aware of the rules but have not implemented measures yet.
- And only about one in ten claim full compliance – once again it seems the largest players are the ones who see this more as an investment than a mere expense.
- This suggests that regulatory and reputational pressure around accessibility is still ahead of the sector, and will likely become a differentiator in the coming years. For now, the Bulgarian e-commerce brands either still don’t see the market in Bulgaria as large enough to consider “Accessibility” a factor and their priorities are elsewhere.
- Cybersecurity
- More than half of respondents rely on basic protection only (for example, SSL and secure hosting), without regular audits or staff training.
- Around one third have implemented more advanced measures such as dedicated security systems, backups, and cybersecurity training.
- And only around 15% either do not understand the risks or have not taken any concrete action yet, despite recognizing that potential risks do indeed exist.
In either case, the pattern is similar: most of the sector is still at the “minimum viable” level, and only a minority has moved to proactive, structured risk management and customer prioritization.
Customer Loyalty: A Solid Base for Sustainable Growth
Despite price sensitivity and competitive pressure, the data on loyal customers is relatively encouraging but nowhere near enough:
- More than half of merchants report that over 15% of their customers make repeat purchases.
- Another significant group falls in the 5–15% repeat‑purchase range.
- And only a small share has very low loyalty under 5%.
So, behind the strong focus on acquiring new customers, lies a meaningful base of loyal buyers which could be nurtured with better CRM, loyalty programs, and more thoughtful retention marketing, and email marketing. It’s a segment that ought to be invested in more from here and it’s an excellent growth opportunity for brands in the market.
Conclusion: Between Stability and the Next Step Up
eCommerce in Bulgaria at the start of 2026 stands on a solid but tense foundation.
Revenues grow moderately year-on-year, average order values are concentrated in the 50–200 BGN range for both cash and online payments, and the levels of unclaimed and returned orders are low. At the same time:
- Marketing and, in particular, customer acquisition is the central pain point of the sector regardless of the business’ size.
- Businesses are heavily dependent on Facebook advertising, with relatively undifferentiated paid strategies on the platform.
- AI is widely used, but mostly for surface‑level content generation, not for deep automation or decision‑making.
- Accessibility and cybersecurity remain underdeveloped but are poised to become the next unavoidable priorities.
Outlook for 2026: From Surviving on Ads to Building Durable, Trust‑Based Growth
Looking ahead to the rest of 2026, the Bulgarian eCommerce market is likely to continue along the same trajectory: moderate revenue growth on a low‑cost tech stack, high dependence on paid traffic, and a mostly local customer base. Competition for attention on Facebook and other paid channels will intensify, and regulations around accessibility, data protection, and payments will keep tightening.
To stay ahead in this environment, we recommend that businesses focus on four strategic shifts:
- Turn paid traffic into owned audiences
- Treat Facebook and Google as rentals, not homes: use them to grow your email list, repeat buyers, and community, not just short‑term sales.
- Invest in content and storytelling that can live on your own site, newsletter, and social profiles so each paid click has a longer lifetime value.
- Professionalize retention: loyalty, CRM, and email
- Build on the existing base of repeat buyers with simple, clearly communicated loyalty programs, regular email flows (welcome, post‑purchase, win‑back), and personalized interactions.
- Track and improve repeat purchase rate and customer lifetime value, not just return-on-ad-spend (ROAS) on individual campaigns.
- Upgrade operations where it matters most: logistics, security, and accessibility
- Keep unclaimed orders and returns low by tightening warehouse processes, packaging, and courier partnerships; for some, testing selective outsourcing of fulfillment will be worth it, even if the market as a whole is still very in‑house.
- Additionally, move from pen-and-paper to a specialized system to manage your orders and warehouse management.
- Move from “basic” to structured cybersecurity (backups, audits, training) and start a concrete accessibility roadmap; both will shift from “nice to have” to table stakes.
- Use AI beyond copywriting
- Keep using generative AI for content, but start piloting AI for analytics, segmentation, and customer support (smart FAQs, assisted chat, basic personalization).
- Aim for small, measurable automations that free up time for higher‑value work rather than chasing buzzword projects.
Businesses that make these shifts in 2026 will be less exposed to rising ad costs, better protected against regulatory and security shocks, and in a stronger position to expand – first across Bulgaria, then across the region.
If we had to summarize the next phase of market development in one sentence, it might be:
From cheap tech stacks and expensive traffic towards smarter content, better automation, email marketing, additional payment methods, a focus on courier deliveries and more mature practices around protection, accessibility, and customer loyalty all gearing businesses towards sustainable growth.
The eCommerce businesses and other partners behind this data, as well as our speakers with decades of practical experience in eCommerce, can all be met together in one place – only at the Balkan eCommerce Summit 2026. A lot of the cases and problems we see from the findings in this report are discussed and solutions found there. Further value can be found through real examples, practical panels, and meetings between merchants, platforms, logistics partners, and marketing specialists. The full edition of the survey, with all the data and detailed breakdowns can be downloaded from the link here: Download the full survey report.