Understanding how Ukrainian e-commerce survives and develops under wartime conditions is critically important for businesses, marketers, and anyone interested in the state of the Ukrainian economy. That’s why since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Promodo agency has been systematically researching this market segment. This was detailed by ROMI ’24 conference speaker and Promodo agency’s Marketing Director Valeriia Lavska.

Five waves of research were conducted, allowing to track the dynamics of changes, identify new opportunities, and understand how Ukrainian online stores are adapting to new conditions.

Let’s look at several most interesting categories from the Ukrainian e-commerce research:

Why these categories? Because they most vividly demonstrate how Ukrainians’ online shopping has changed during wartime.

For the research, experts collected data from a wide range of Ukrainian online stores with different sales volumes, allowing them to obtain a representative picture of the market state. Weighted average indicators were used to visualize the results, which helped smooth out individual differences between companies. To analyze dynamics, experts compared the first half of 2024 with the same period in 2023. To eliminate inflation’s impact and ensure more accurate comparison, all monetary indicators were converted to US dollars. Special attention was paid to the dynamics of unique users, data for which was obtained from Google Analytics 4.

Despite wartime realities, the household appliances and electronics category showed resilience and even exceeded pre-war indicators by 12.5% in dollar terms.

Overall, revenue from online electronics sales increased by 7.5% compared to the previous year. This result is explained by a 14% increase in unique users. Obviously, Ukrainians are increasingly choosing online shopping for electronics purchases. At the same time, the average check decreased by 28% – consumers are becoming more cautious in spending. This trend is related to economic difficulties and the need to save money for other needs, especially under conditions of shelling and blackouts. However, in dollar terms, the average check still increased by 10% compared to 2021.

Consumers are increasingly choosing online shopping for food and alcoholic beverages. The number of unique users in this category increased by 37%, and the average check by 20%. This indicates that Ukrainians are not only shopping online more frequently but are also willing to spend more money. Growing demand has intensified marketing competition among sellers, which in turn increased the cost per click by 12%. Despite this, overall advertising budgets increased by 38%, indicating high attractiveness of this niche for business. According to analysts’ forecasts, this trend will continue in the future.

Despite a 74% increase in online purchases of these goods, revenue in this category grew by only 5% in dollar terms. This is explained by a 24% decrease in the average check, which may be a consequence of the economic crisis and reduced purchasing power of the population. However, a 51% increase in conversion rate indicates that online stores are successfully competing for consumers.

Why is this happening? Everything is explained by increased competition from foreign players, particularly Polish online platforms. Most of us, when looking for clothes online, visit sites like Modivo, Answear, PRM, etc. These companies significantly influence the market, buying up the lion’s share of paid search. Although the cost per click increased by only 12%, and budgets and user numbers changed very slightly, the clothing and footwear category will continue to grow in coming years. It’s worth noting that mobile apps play an important role in customer retention. As we can see from the ranking of the most popular mobile fashion applications, foreign players dominate this market as well.

The pet supplies market continues to develop actively despite increased competition in this segment: revenue in this category grew by 19% in dollars. The number of online shoppers is increasing, but average check and conversion don’t show the same rapid growth. This is related to consumer behavior patterns: many pet owners compare prices online but buy products in offline stores. Therefore, pet supply retailers are intensively expanding their offline network. High competition in the online space leads to a 46% increase in cost per click and increased advertising budgets. Further growth in advertising spending is also predicted.

The number of online shoppers is growing not due to population increase, but because more people are getting used to shopping online. Thus, this relates to high internet penetration. Growing competition leads to constant increases in cost per click. Those who work with advertising accounts can confirm that advertising prices have already significantly exceeded pre-war levels and will continue to grow.

Analyzing European and Ukrainian markets, several key trends can be identified.

Although Performance Max is a powerful tool for rapid sales growth, we shouldn’t forget about the importance of organic marketing. Creating a comprehensive marketing plan that combines paid advertising, brand development, and search engine optimization will not only increase sales but also build a solid foundation for long-term success. Only a balanced approach will help businesses achieve maximum return on marketing investments.

Statistics show that average revenue per user in Ukraine will increase, but much slower than in Europe.

This is also confirmed by analysis of net revenue per user in e-commerce: while in Europe this indicator has been growing rapidly since 2023, in Ukraine it will remain relatively stable until 2029. Therefore, to accelerate the development of the Ukrainian market, it’s necessary to focus on solving these problems.

To improve business metrics, it’s worth paying attention to a global trend of recent years – the use of Big Data. In particular, personalized product recommendations should be implemented. When a user views a certain product, the system should suggest relevant additions based on their previous purchases and other customers’ behavior.

This can be implemented through dynamic recommendation blocks that are constantly updated. Additionally, website gamification will help collect more user data, allowing creation of more accurate personalized mailings and more effective use of CRM tools.

What is RFM analysis? It’s a method of segmenting a large number of customers based on three criteria:

• Recency,
• Frequency,
• Monetary.

First and foremost, this analysis will help divide the customer audience by loyalty level and spending. You can create personalized mailings for clients who actively buy from you through various channels (email, Viber, SMS). And for less active clients, you can use simpler marketing tools, for example, only email newsletters.

Mobile applications also play an important role in increasing customer loyalty. High open rates for push notifications in e-commerce apps (average 28-32%) indicate the effectiveness of this tool. Implementing a loyalty program in a mobile app will allow you to attract even more customers and increase their purchase frequency.

“According to research, companies with mobile applications increase their average check by approximately 20%. My experience of living in Europe confirms this trend. Implementing your own mobile app will allow you not only to offer customers additional discounts and bonuses but also collect valuable data about their preferences. This data can be used to personalize marketing campaigns and increase sales by 15-20%,” emphasizes Valeriia Lavska, CMO of Promodo marketing agency.

Today, when online marketing is actively developing, it’s important to make the purchase process on the website as convenient as possible for the customer. Even if you attracted a user to the site through advertising, they can easily leave if they encounter any difficulties. For example, high minimum order amounts or lack of desired product in stock can deter consumers. Therefore, it’s worth carefully analyzing each stage of the user journey and eliminating all possible obstacles.

Despite the challenges associated with war, the Ukrainian e-commerce market has demonstrated impressive resilience and ability to adapt. Promodo’s research showed that different product categories reacted differently to changes, but overall, there is growth in online sales. The research results confirm that Ukrainian e-commerce has great potential for further development. However, to achieve greater success, businesses need to constantly improve and adapt faster to new challenges.