In the 12 months prior to the 2021 survey, 90% of people aged 16 to 74 in the EU had used the internet, 74% of whom had bought or ordered goods or services for private use.
Online shopping increased by 1 percentage point (pp) compared with 2020 (73% of internet users) and by 11 pp compared with 2016 (63%).
The highest shares of internet users who bought or ordered goods or services over the internet in the 12 months prior to the survey were recorded in the Netherlands (94%), Denmark (92%) and Sweden (89%). On the other hand, fewer than 50% had shopped online in Romania (44%) and Bulgaria (42%).
Latvia sat in the middle, just below the EU average level. For 2021, 67% of internet users placed online orders, up from a 63% figure in 2020. Back in 2016 the figure was 55%.
Among the population as a whole, 62% of people placed online orders during the preceeding 12 months.
Over the last five years, the largest increases in online shopping among internet users were recorded in Czechia (+27 pp), Slovenia, Hungary and Romania (all +26 pp), as well as Croatia and Lithuania (both +25 pp).
