Greece E-commerce Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2025 - 2030)

Greece E-commerce Market Trends and Insights

Surge in Mobile Shopping Driven by Widespread 5G Roll-out

Fifth-generation networks now cover 86% of Greek urban areas, enabling high-resolution images, livestream demos, and instant in-app payments that keep shoppers on handheld devices for longer sessions.^{[1]Ministry of Digital Governance, “The Greek National Digital Decade Strategic Roadmap,” digitalstrategy.gov.gr} Retailers prioritise thumb-friendly page layouts, biometric login, and accelerated checkouts because mobile constitutes the majority of visits and revenue in the Greece e-commerce market. Delivery fleets integrate GPS tracking into apps, letting customers follow couriers in real time, which raises satisfaction and repeat purchase rates. Advertisers run location-aware push campaigns that convert footfall into digital traffic within minutes of store exposure. As network coverage extends to secondary cities by 2027, incremental users will deepen penetration across the Greece e-commerce market.

Government’s “Digital Bible” Tax Incentives Accelerating SME On-boarding

The 200% super-deduction for qualified digital expenses lowers entry costs for small merchants and creates a predictable payback period for web-store investments.^{[2]European Commission, “Case Study on Smart and Sustainable Growth: Supporting SMEs,” commission.europa.eu} Uptake has been strongest in electronics and fashion micro-retailers that previously relied on neighbourhood foot traffic. Cloud providers and payment gateways are bundling discounted packages to align with the subsidy rules, further easing adoption. Regional chambers of commerce report improved digital skills after the government funded targeted training courses. As more SMEs list products online, inventory variety on domestic marketplaces rises, encouraging consumers to consolidate spending within local platforms and boosting the Greece e-commerce market.

Rapid Growth of Omnichannel Click-and-Collect Services

Seven leading retailers now synchronise store and online stock in real time, letting buyers reserve items online and collect within hours. This model addresses concerns about delivery reliability in dense urban areas and mitigates last-mile costs.^{[3]Bouhouras et al., “Unlocking the Potential of Pick-Up Points in Last-Mile Delivery,” mdpi.com} Early adopters are recording lower return rates because customers can inspect goods before leaving the store. Retailers use in-store pickup to cross-sell complementary products, lifting average transaction values. Real-estate owners benefit from higher footfall, creating a virtuous loop that entrenches omnichannel fulfilment within the Greece e-commerce market.

Tourism-Led Luxury Spend Propelling Cross-Border Orders

Foreign arrivals outstrip 2019 levels, and affluent visitors often continue purchasing Greek luxury items after returning home. Brands have introduced duty-paid shipping options and multilingual after-sales support to capture these repeat orders. Dedicated microsites highlight Greek provenance, leveraging cultural narratives to differentiate from global competitors. Partnerships with hotel concierges and cruise operators steer travellers to curated digital storefronts. This cross-border activity injects premium margins and diversifies demand beyond the domestic base.

High Return Rates in Fashion Category Eroding Profitability

Return levels near 30% strain working capital, warehouse throughput, and sustainability targets. Size uncertainty and colour mismatch remain the top triggers, prompting retailers to pilot augmented-reality fitting rooms that overlay garments on user images. Some platforms reward shoppers who keep items with loyalty points, nudging behaviour while protecting margins. Courier firms are offering discounted reverse-logistics bundles to large merchants, yet smaller sellers bear higher per-unit costs. The issue underscores the importance of accurate product data and predictive sizing algorithms in protecting profitability across the Greece e-commerce market.

Persistent Preference for Cash-on-Delivery Elevating Costs

COD still dominates low-value orders outside metropolitan areas, imposing cash-handling costs and higher failed-delivery rates. Card-on-delivery terminals are a transitional fix, but merchants incur fee premiums for portable POS devices. Government digital-literacy campaigns and real-time bank transfer schemes are slowly shifting behaviour, yet trust barriers remain. Platforms emphasise buyer-protection guarantees and instant refunds to encourage prepaid methods. Until COD declines below critical mass, fulfilment budgets will carry a structural cost penalty.

Segment Analysis

By Business Model: B2C Dominates While B2B Gains Momentum

The B2C segment generates 88.02% of the Greece e-commerce market. Widespread mobile literacy, secure payment rails, and rich product content make online retail the default for electronics, groceries, and fashion. Consumer expectations for free returns and next-day delivery continue to climb, pressuring margins yet widening addressable demand. In contrast, B2B online procurement is valued lower today but is forecast to expand at a 12.8% CAGR as enterprises digitise sourcing and seek volume discounts through electronic catalogues. Government subsidies for SME digital platforms reduce the payback period for suppliers, and corporate buyers increasingly integrate e-invoicing, which streamlines reconciliation. Consequently, B2B will represent a rising share of the Greece e-commerce market size across the forecast window.

Large wholesalers adopt punch-out catalogues to interface with enterprise resource planning systems, cutting manual order entry. Freight forwarders negotiate dynamic pricing by pooling B2B volumes, improving delivery reliability to regional warehouses. Marketplaces are onboarding industrial supplies, safety equipment, and raw materials, moving beyond office stationery. Digital credit assessment tools shorten supplier onboarding cycles, while embedded financing options support bulk purchases. The interplay of automation and financing innovation positions B2B as a structural growth lever inside the Greece e-commerce market.

By Device Type: Mobile Sets the Standard for User Experience

Smartphones account for 65.23% of transaction value in 2024. Retailers optimise imagery compression and biometric authentication to keep checkout within two taps. Push notifications with personalised promotions drive repeat traffic during off-peak hours, smoothing server loads. Larger screen real estate on foldable devices encourages higher average order values for furniture and electronics. Other connected devices, including wearables and voice-enabled home assistants, grow from a low base at a 13.1% CAGR as consumers embrace ambient commerce. Laptops remain relevant for complex B2B orders requiring detailed specification comparison, supporting a balanced device mix within the Greece e-commerce market.

5G edge computing supports augmented reality overlays that preview furniture in real scale through mobile cameras, improving conversion. Retailers integrate low-code app builders to iterate features rapidly and align with evolving OS guidelines. In-app wallets autofill loyalty points, while context-aware chatbots resolve queries without redirecting to desktops. These user-experience advancements reinforce mobile’s primacy and anchor the Greece e-commerce market size gains attributed to handheld devices.

By Payment Method: Digital Wallets Challenge Card Leadership

Cards hold a 61.05% share in 2024 online spend. Strong dispute-resolution frameworks and widespread merchant acceptance underpin this position. Digital wallets, however, post a 14.2% CAGR, propelled by single-click authentication, integrated rewards, and biometric security. Younger cohorts prefer wallet apps linked to debit instruments, trusting device fingerprint sensors over card data entry. BNPL modules embedded within wallets raise conversion on discretionary categories, while instant bank transfers close settlement cycles for merchants. Cash-on-delivery, though declining, serves risk-averse first-time shoppers, particularly beyond large urban areas, prolonging payment method diversity across the Greece e-commerce market.

Payment processors invest in tokenisation to minimise fraud, lowering chargeback ratios. Loyalty coalitions integrate airline miles and grocery points into wallet ecosystems, encouraging repeat usage. Regulatory frameworks such as PSD2 mandate strong customer authentication, which wallets satisfy via facial recognition, giving them a compliance edge. Merchants weigh interchange fees against wallet incentives as they design checkout flows. These factors collectively reshape spending patterns and influence the Greece e-commerce market share of each payment method.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By B2C Product Category: Food & Beverages Retain the Lead

Food & beverages produced 27.21% of the Greece e-commerce market size in 2024. Quick-commerce operators promise delivery within 15 minutes in major cities, motivating basket consolidation and subscription upgrades. Grocers leverage dark stores near high-density zones to optimise picking efficiency. Meanwhile, beauty & personal care registers a 12.3% CAGR, buoyed by AI-based skin-analysis quizzes that generate tailored product bundles. Ethical ingredient sourcing seals customer loyalty among millennials who value transparency.

Consumer electronics sustain volume through flash-sale promotions that leverage real-time inventory feeds. Fashion faces margin headwinds from returns, prompting investment in 3D sizing guides. Home furnishings benefit from augmented reality staging and deferred-payment options. Toy and hobby segments peak during holiday seasons, supported by influencer-driven unboxing content. These dynamics illustrate the varied growth arcs that coexist under the Greece e-commerce market umbrella.

Geography Analysis

Athens and Thessaloniki contribute the majority of order volumes, supported by 86% 5G penetration and dense courier networks. Automated parcel machine availability remains below European norms, at 712,170 inhabitants per unit, yet expansion plans target a 50% improvement by 2027. Coastal and island regions lag due to fragmented logistics; nevertheless, tourism inflows drive premium sales in Mykonos, Santorini, and Crete, especially for luxury goods that tourists continue purchasing online post-departure. Rural mainland areas show rising adoption as digital literacy programs extend broadband and smartphone subsidies.

Cross-border commerce now accounts for 30% of Greek online shoppers, with Germany, Italy, and China ranking as top source markets. Harmonised EU VAT rules and the Digital Services Act are lowering administrative barriers, encouraging merchants to localise listings in multiple languages. Forwarders route parcels through regional hubs near Patras and Alexandroupoli ports, shortening inbound lead times. These improvements integrate Greece more tightly into the continental fulfilment grid, boosting overall resilience of the Greece e-commerce market. 

Regional governments invest in road upgrades and cold-chain facilities to stimulate agricultural exports via e-commerce channels, diversifying rural income. The National Broadband Plan targets full fibre coverage for 90% of households by 2030, promising further uplift. Combined, these infrastructure and policy efforts position geography as both a challenge and an opportunity for scaling the Greece e-commerce market.