A Roadmap for Transforming Local Frictions into Balkan Success: Greek Market

At Balkan eCommerce Summit 2026, John Kiskipelis from UPCommerce presented a detailed overview of the Greek eCommerce market, highlighting why Greece is becoming one of the fastest-growing digital commerce markets in Europe and what Balkan merchants need to understand before expanding there.

The session combined:

• market research
• operational insights
• logistics data
• marketplace trends
• consumer behavior
• cross-border opportunities

with a strong focus on practical realities such as delivery challenges, payment preferences, locker adoption, and marketplace dominance. 

Greece Is One of Europe’s Fastest-Growing eCommerce Markets

One of the first key insights shared during the presentation was that:

Greece is expected to have the second-highest eCommerce growth rate in Europe.

According to the speaker:

• Bulgaria is expected to rank first
• Greece follows immediately after

John emphasized that regional developments such as:

• Eurozone integration
• stronger cross-border trade
• improved logistics
• digital adoption

are accelerating growth across the Balkans. 

Key Greek eCommerce Market Statistics

The lecture shared several important figures describing the scale of the Greek market:

• 30,000+ e-shops
• €36+ billion online revenue
• 95% mobile user penetration
• 7.5+ million social media users

The session highlighted that Greece is now a highly digital consumer market with strong mobile and social commerce behavior. 

What Greeks Buy Online

According to the market data presented, the most popular online categories in Greece include:

• travel and tickets
• apparel and fashion
• electronics
• food delivery
• beauty and health products

The speaker noted that platforms such as:

• eFood
• Wolt

have significantly accelerated digital food ordering behavior in the Greek market.

Payment Preferences in Greece

The presentation explored both:

• payment methods offered by merchants
  and
• the actual payment methods preferred by consumers.

Almost every Greek eCommerce store now supports:

• card payments
• bank transfers
• PayPal
• digital wallets
• cash on delivery

At the same time, the market is gradually shifting away from:

cash on delivery.

According to the shared partner data:

• cash on delivery used to represent around 60%
• it has now dropped closer to 50%
• card payments continue gaining share

The lecture also noted growing adoption of:

Buy Now, Pay Later solutions

such as Klarna. 

Average Order Value Is Increasing

The presentation revealed that:

average order value in Greece has increased by around 11%.

The speaker explained that this growth is driven largely by:

• inflation
• rising product prices
• increased online spending

The average order value in the broader Greek market was presented as approximately:

€68.

The Biggest Operational Challenge: Last-Mile Delivery

A major focus of the lecture was logistics.

According to John:

last-mile delivery remains one of the biggest challenges in Greece.

This is largely due to:

• geography
• islands
• fragmented delivery routes
• longer transport times

The session showed that delivery times continue increasing year after year, especially for island deliveries. 

“Aparadota” – The Greek Last-Mile Problem

One particularly interesting concept introduced during the lecture was:

“Aparadota”

This refers to parcels that customers never collect.

These are not traditional returns:
the customer simply never picks up the package.

According to the speaker:

• the average Aparadota rate is around 7.5%
• fashion has higher rates
• electronics have lower rates

A key insight was that:

slower delivery times directly increase uncollected parcel rates.

As delivery becomes slower:

• abandonment rises
• failed delivery costs increase
• operational inefficiencies grow

Parcel Lockers Are Growing Rapidly

The lecture highlighted that:

locker adoption is becoming a major trend in Greece.

Approximately:

25% of customers now prefer lockers.

The reasons include:

• convenience
• speed
• flexibility
• 24/7 accessibility

Consumers increasingly prefer the ability to:

• collect parcels on their own schedule
• avoid delivery uncertainty
• reduce waiting times

BoxNow’s Rapid Expansion

John also presented data from BoxNow, one of the leading locker delivery operators in Greece.

According to the session:

BoxNow has:

• 2,500+ lockers in Greece
• 92% population coverage
• partnerships with 7,000+ e-shops

Despite Greece’s geographical complexity and island structure, the company has achieved extremely broad national coverage. 

Cross-Border Opportunities for Bulgarian Merchants

A major point during the lecture was that:

Bulgarian merchants can enter the Greek market relatively easily through existing logistics and marketplace infrastructure.

The speaker specifically highlighted:

• BoxNow cross-border solutions
• marketplace integrations
• localized payment systems
• existing logistics ecosystems

as strong entry opportunities for Balkan eCommerce businesses.

Marketplaces Dominate Consumer Behavior

The presentation strongly emphasized the importance of marketplaces.

According to the shared data:

around 60% of European consumers buy through marketplaces.

The percentage is even higher in:

• Asia (~97%)
• the Americas (~70%)

John argued that merchants ignoring marketplaces are effectively ignoring:

the majority of their potential audience.

Why Marketplaces Simplify International Expansion

The lecture explained that marketplaces solve many critical localization problems:

• language
• logistics
• payments
• customer trust
• delivery
• customer acquisition

For cross-border sellers:
marketplaces significantly reduce the complexity of entering new markets.

Skroutz: Greece’s Largest Marketplace

A large section of the presentation focused on:

Skroutz

which was described as:

the largest marketplace in Greece.

The platform also offers:

FBS (Fulfilled by Skroutz)

similar to Amazon FBA.

This means merchants can:

• store products with Skroutz
• outsource packaging
• outsource delivery
• outsource returns

making market entry easier for international sellers.

What Sells Best on Skroutz

According to marketplace data presented during the session, the most popular searches in Greece include:

• mobile phones
• sneakers
• athletic shoes

The fastest-growing categories are:

• health & beauty
• home & garden
• technology
• fashion

Cyprus Is Growing Extremely Fast

The lecture also explored Cyprus as an expansion opportunity.

Key insights included:

• 90% year-over-year growth
• very high average order values
• strong card payment usage
• growing Revolut adoption

Additionally:

83% of Cypriot shoppers buy from abroad.

This creates significant opportunities for:

• Greek merchants
• Bulgarian merchants
• Romanian merchants

to expand cross-border.

The Main Strategic Takeaways

The lecture outlined several important realities about the Greek and Balkan eCommerce landscape:

Greece is becoming one of Europe’s fastest-growing eCommerce markets
mobile and social commerce dominate consumer behavior
cash on delivery is declining while card payments continue growing
last-mile logistics remain one of the market’s biggest operational challenges
delivery speed directly impacts failed delivery rates
parcel lockers are rapidly reshaping customer expectations
marketplaces are becoming the easiest path for cross-border expansion
Skroutz plays a central role in Greek eCommerce
Cyprus presents strong cross-border growth opportunities
localization, logistics, and payment flexibility are critical for success

The overall conclusion of the session was that Balkan merchants can successfully expand into Greece and neighboring markets, but only if they understand the local operational realities, delivery expectations, and marketplace-driven buying behavior that define the region today.