The Balkan eCommerce Corridor: Who Wins the Cross-Border Race?

Rodica Verbeniuc is Co-founder of BusinessVoice Romania, where she engages C-level leaders in high-impact dialogue through executive events, as well as MK & Comms support designed to increase strategic visibility and generate high-quality B2B opportunities. She also hosts Into a Leader’s Mind, a podcast featuring leaders shaping the future of business. Previously, she served as General Director of Invest Moldova Agency, and held leadership roles in GR, CorpComms, and Sustainability within TeliaSonera Group across Moldova and Uzbekistan.

Cătălin Bordei is an eCommerce specialist and results-driven entrepreneur with 16+ years in online commerce, software development, digital solutions, telecom, and retail. As Managing Partner at Innobyte, he helps companies grow by designing and delivering end-to-end eCommerce solutions – from concept and strategy to development, testing, optimization, and scaling – driving measurable growth and operational excellence across industries.

Mihai Teodorescu is a logistics executive at Eltra Logis, with proven expertise in international transport and complex cross-border operations. He is engaged in the development of strategic freight corridors linking Western Europe with emerging regional markets, with a focus on efficiency, reliability, and long-term partnerships.

Cosmin Dărăban is a recognized eCommerce leader with over 21 years of online experience. Co-founder of Gomag, one of Romania’s leading eCommerce platforms, he also created Academia de eCommerce, an educational hub for business owners. Under his guidance, the Gomag team develops tools, content, and products while supporting over 5,000 online stores.

Cori is MKOR Founder, an entrepreneur and marketing leader with over 18 years of experience, known for building MKOR, a market research agency that challenges how data supports real business decisions. Her journey blends corporate experience with entrepreneurship, from launching innovative ventures to shaping marketing strategies for both local and international companies. She brings a human-centered approach to research, combining data, technology, and strategic thinking to deliver insights that truly matter, helping organizations better understand their markets and grow with clarity and purpose.

At Balkan eCommerce Summit 2026, the panel “The Balkan eCommerce Corridor: Who Wins the Cross-Border Race?” brought together Romanian business leaders from technology, logistics, eCommerce platforms, and market research to discuss what actually makes cross-border expansion successful in the Balkan region.

The discussion focused on a practical reality: cross-border eCommerce is no longer a question of whether expansion will happen, but who will manage to make it work sustainably.

Cross-Border Growth Starts With Systems, Not Markets

Rodica Verbeniuc opened the discussion by emphasizing that businesses no longer operate in stable and predictable environments.

Today, companies face:

• fluctuating costs
• changing delivery routes
• shifting consumer behavior
• fast-changing customer expectations
• growing regional competition

The first conclusion of the panel was that scaling abroad is not only about entering a new market. It starts with building the right systems behind the business.

Platform Readiness Is the First Step

Cătălin Bordei explained that a company must first assess whether its platform is technically ready for cross-border commerce.

Key requirements include:

• multi-language functionality
• multi-currency support
• multiple websites or localized storefronts
• local payment methods
• local delivery methods
• marketplace integrations

He emphasized that English is not enough in many regional markets. Customers expect local language, familiar payments, and a shopping experience adapted to their habits.

Marketplaces Are a Fast Way to Test New Markets

The panel highlighted marketplaces as one of the easiest ways to enter a new country.

Marketplaces already provide:

• local traffic
• trusted infrastructure
• payment integrations
• logistics options
• market knowledge
• consumer trust

For many merchants, they offer a faster and more cost-effective way to test demand before building a full local operation.

Local Culture Matters More Than Companies Expect

One of the recurring themes was that nearby markets are not necessarily similar markets.

Even Romania and Bulgaria, despite geographical proximity, have different cultural behaviors, consumer expectations, and operational habits.

Cătălin shared that when companies open a local office and adapt their service to the local market, performance often improves immediately – not because demand suddenly changes, but because the business becomes closer to the customer.

From Tools to Integrated Systems

Cosmin Daraban emphasized that many businesses become too focused on tools instead of business decisions.

Companies often use many separate systems for:

• email
• ads
• eCommerce
• AI
• CRM
• logistics

but fail to bring the data together.

His main point was that businesses should not be tool-driven or even AI-driven. They should be business-driven, using data and technology to support clear commercial decisions.

A strong platform should integrate data in one place so business owners can understand:

• what products sell
• what customers respond to
• what feedback they give
• which messages work
• which logistics choices affect profit

Scaling Without Market Understanding Is Expensive

Cori Cimpoca warned that companies too often expand without truly understanding the market they are entering.

The cost of this mistake can be extremely high, sometimes reaching millions of euros.

She emphasized three types of readiness:

• business maturity
• management maturity
• market readiness

Companies need to understand not only their own business, but also the real behaviors, needs, and expectations of customers in the new market.

AI Helps Testing, But Does Not Replace Thinking

The panel also discussed AI as a powerful tool for testing messages, automating processes, and improving personalization.

However, the speakers agreed that AI is not a universal solution.

AI can help:

• test communication
• personalize offers
• support localization
• process data faster
• automate workflows

But companies still need human strategy, market understanding, and clear goals.

Discovery and Specifications Are Often Underestimated

Cătălin pointed out that many technology projects fail because companies skip or rush the discovery phase.

Businesses often say a project is “80% done,” when in reality the foundation was never properly defined.

His recommendation was simple:
write things down.

Before implementation, companies should clearly document:

• what they want to build
• why they need it
• how it should work
• what success looks like
• how it will be tested

Without a strong discovery phase, companies may finish the project technically, but fail to achieve the business goal.

Logistics Must Be Part of the Strategy

Mihai Teodorescu explained that logistics cannot be treated as an afterthought in cross-border expansion.

Digitalization has significantly improved logistics productivity. Processes that once required emails, phone calls, or manual order handling can now happen automatically through connected systems.

For example, transport orders can be transmitted directly between client systems and logistics platforms, allowing hundreds of orders to be processed quickly without large manual teams.

The key point was that demand without logistics capacity becomes a business risk.

If a company creates demand but cannot fulfill it properly, growth turns into customer dissatisfaction.

Local Delivery and Payment Habits Can Decide Success

The panel emphasized that each market has its own operational expectations.

Examples included:

• cash on delivery still being essential in many Balkan markets
• parcel lockers being mandatory in some markets
• phone call confirmations still mattering in less mature markets
• installment payment options being crucial in some countries
• delivery promises needing to match real local capacity

A strategy that works in Romania may not work in Bulgaria, Poland, Moldova, or Spain.

The Customer Journey Does Not End at Checkout

Cătălin reminded the audience that the customer journey begins before a user lands on the website and continues long after purchase.

It includes:

• discovery
• website experience
• payment
• delivery
• unboxing
• product usage
• review
• loyalty
• repeat purchase

This means every operational element must be aligned.

A great ad campaign cannot compensate for poor delivery. A strong platform cannot compensate for bad localization. A good product can still fail if trust is broken.

Trust Is the Core of Cross-Border Success

Trust appeared as one of the most important themes of the discussion.

The speakers emphasized that when entering a new market, companies must work hard not only to gain trust, but also to avoid betraying it.

Trust is built through:

• local language
• transparent communication
• reliable delivery
• familiar payment methods
• realistic promises
• good customer support
• consistent post-purchase experience

Once lost, trust is extremely difficult to rebuild.

Practical Advice From the Panel

At the end, each speaker gave a practical recommendation for companies planning cross-border expansion.

Cosmin Daraban advised businesses to place several test orders from local competitors and study the full customer experience – communication, delivery, packaging, and post-purchase flow.

Cătălin Bordei emphasized that the first priority in a new market is building and protecting trust.

Cori Cimpoca recommended knowing the market deeply before entering it, because customer context can determine whether a company earns profit or loses money.

Mihai Teodorescu stressed that logistics must be part of the business strategy from the beginning, not added later.

Key Takeaways from the Discussion

The panel delivered several important lessons for Balkan cross-border eCommerce:

cross-border growth depends on systems, not only ambition
platforms must support localization, payments, delivery, and currencies
marketplaces are useful for testing and entering new markets
local culture and consumer behavior differ even between neighboring countries
integrated systems are more important than disconnected tools
AI helps, but does not replace strategic thinking
market research prevents expensive mistakes
logistics must be planned before demand is created
delivery and payment habits must match local expectations
trust is the most valuable asset in cross-border expansion
the customer journey continues long after checkout

The overall conclusion was clear: the companies that win the Balkan cross-border race will be those that combine technology, logistics, localization, trust, and real market understanding into one coherent operating system.

The presentation is not available for sharing.