Albanians online, but not for shopping/Latest in Europe for e-commerce and digital banking

2025-12-02 15:08:00, Ekonomi CNA

Albanians online, but not for shopping/Latest in Europe for e-commerce and

Despite the fact that 83 percent of Albanians are daily internet users, when it comes to making purchases or conducting banking transactions, they prefer traditional methods.

During 2024, according to Eurostat, only 16.3 percent of Albanians (age group 16-74) ordered goods or services online, the last in Europe. While in the Netherlands, in the central region of Utrecht, the highest percentage in the EU is recorded, where 91.5 percent of people ordered products or services online during 2024.

Albania also ranks last in terms of online banking usage, with only 15.1% of the population using the internet for banking services in 2024, compared to the EU average of 67.2%.

Daily internet users

Internet users are defined as people aged 16 to 74 who use the Internet at home, at work or elsewhere, for private or professional purposes, regardless of the device or type of connection they use.

In 2024, almost 9 out of every 10 people aged 16–74 in the EU used the internet every day.

In 2024, 88.3% of people aged 16–74 in the EU reported using the internet every day in the 3 months preceding the ICT survey*. This level was 2.4 percentage points higher than in 2023 and 11.4 points higher than in 2019.

Ordering goods or services online

In 2024, 60.2% of people aged 16 to 74 in the EU reported having ordered goods or services online during the 3 months prior to the ICT survey.

The highest percentages were recorded in regions of the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, France (excluding remote regions), the Netherlands, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.

The central Dutch region of Utrecht leads with 91.5% of users shopping online.

On the other hand, online shopping was below the EU average in all regions of Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, as well as in Croatia and Latvia.

Albania, with 16.3%, is positioned significantly below even the weakest EU countries.

Internet banking

In recent years, the EU banking sector has seen a significant increase in online services. Customers now visit local branches less often or not at all, the number of branches has shrunk and online transfers or electronic payments have become the norm. Online banking reduces the need for physical branches and the associated costs. Furthermore, it often offers greater convenience, enabling banking transactions and other activities to be carried out at any time of the day and from almost any location.

In 2024, 67.2% of the EU population aged 16 to 74 used the internet for banking during the 3 months preceding the ICT survey.

Over 90.0% of people in every region of Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland used online banking. In Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Sweden and the Baltic countries, most regions also recorded relatively high percentages (at least 80.0%); the same situation was observed in Cyprus.

In 2024, the lowest percentages of people using online banking were recorded in Bulgaria, Romania, and southern Italy.

Several factors influence these areas: the high presence of rural areas, the limited level of digital skills, and an older demographic structure that prefers cash payments.

Albania, with only 15.1%, ranks even lower than these regions./ Eurostat