How has Skroutz evolved to meet this change?
It is a pleasure to be back. The energy in the Balkan ecosystem is maturing rapidly, and at Skroutz, we have spent the last 12 months proving that “local” and “international” are no longer separate strategies. We have moved from being Greece’s most popular marketplace to becoming a truly regional engine. Our mission remains “Shopping Simplified,” but we are now simplifying it for a Romanian seller shipping to a Cypriot customer, or a Bulgarian merchant reaching the Greek market with the click of a button. We have built the logistics and trust infrastructure that allows a merchant in Sofia or Bucharest to sell across borders as easily as if they were in the same city.
We have seen some staggering data regarding your performance in Cyprus recently. How has that market responded to the Skroutz ecosystem?
The latest 2026 market research from the University of Nicosia confirms that Cyprus has fully embraced our model. In just one year, our Brand Awareness skyrocketed to 82%. We are now a top-tier platform on the island, sitting alongside global giants.
More importantly, the trust is there. Based on the same research, our “Purchase History” – the percentage of people who have shopped with us at least once – surged to 53%, jumping from just 28% the previous year. We are seeing a more than 90% YoY GMV growth in Cyprus and are targeting an even more ambitious 66% YoY increase for 2026. With 100 lockers already active and a plan to reach 300 this year, we are providing the physical infrastructure to back up that digital growth.
2025 seems to have been a tipping point for your international sellers. What does that growth look like for merchants entering the Greek market?
2025 was the year cross-border commerce went mainstream. While the total market grew, our international sellers outpaced local growth by a massive margin, resulting in a more than double YoY GMV increase in cross-border sales. International suborders nearly doubled, and our pool of active international merchants expanded by more than 27%. Greek consumers are actively looking across borders for high-value categories like mobile phones, laptops, and smart home tech, but also other categories like fashion, home & deco etc. The demand is there, and it is growing faster than the supply.
Looking at the regional breakdown, Romania and Bulgaria are performing like powerhouses. Who is leading the charge?
Romania is currently the “Cross-Border King,” showing a staggering 3x YoY growth. Bulgaria and Poland follow closely with almost 2x YoY growth for each country respectively. What is impressive is that these sellers aren’t just joining; they are scaling. We are seeing merchants successfully capturing higher value per shop as they optimize their offerings for the Greek consumer.
For a seller in Sofia or Bucharest, the complexity of international shipping is often a barrier. How does Skroutz simplify this?
At Skroutz, operational excellence is our absolute priority. We believe that a flawless journey is the fundamental engine that drives growth for our sellers. This is why we insist on a perfect end-to-end experience: we make international sellers feel “domestic” to the Greek user.
We handle the entire journey through our SLM (Skroutz Last Mile) courier network. Greek users get the fast, reliable delivery they expect, including access to our vast locker network and free delivery for Skroutz Plus members, regardless of where the seller is located. Because we obsess over these operational details, it is seamless for the merchant: you provide the product, and we provide the logistics, the trust, and a user experience that customers rate at 9.02/10 for ease of use. This excellence isn’t just a goal; it’s the reason our sellers are scaling so rapidly.
Since we are in Sofia, what is the vision for Bulgaria through 2026?
Bulgaria is a key pillar of our future. We are investing heavily in a borderless logistics model that targets next-day delivery from Greece to Bulgaria and within Bulgaria itself. While we chose to pivot our storefront launch to align with the currency transition, we are going bigger by building the physical backbone first. We plan to launch also lockers in Bulgaria by the end of 2026. We want to show our neighbors that we are investing in their consumers and their merchants for the long term.
Any final words for the sellers here today who are looking to expand?
The numbers are clear: cross-border GMV is up almost 115%. We have removed the friction of logistics, payments and trust. We are opening the Cypriot market also to Romanian and Bulgarian sellers, creating a truly regional sales engine. The bridge is built – it is time for you to cross it.