Inside the Balkans: Where the eCommerce opportunities are in 2026 – interview with Nikola Ilchev

This interview with Nikola Ilchev, founder of the Balkan eCommerce Summit, takes a clear-eyed look at where the biggest opportunities lie across the region in 2026. Ilchev breaks down growth hotspots and standout categories, compares logistics strengths market by market, and explains the cross-border moves that actually work for sellers entering Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Croatia, and beyond. He also highlights how ecosystem maturity, marketplaces, and payment habits shape expansion timing and why 2026 is poised for faster, more integrated regional playbooks. 

1. Which Balkan markets showed the fastest eCommerce growth, and what new countries or sectors do you expect to stand out in 2026?

If we look across the entire Balkan region, EU and non-EU, it’s clear that Romania continues to stand out as one of the fastest-growing and most advanced eCommerce markets. It’s large, tech-mature, highly competitive, and extremely attractive for any company entering the region. No surprise that major international players like Trendyol and Skroutz chose Romania as one of their first stops.

For Bulgarian businesses especially, Romania remains the most natural next step. Strong logistics connections, familiar consumer behavior, and a rapidly expanding digital economy make it a perfect market for that first cross-border move.

Looking ahead to 2026, I expect two things: more growth coming from Greece and Croatia, both becoming more structured, better funded, and more open to regional sellers. And a rise in niche sectors like health & wellness, pet supplies, and refurbished tech, areas where customers across the Balkans are already showing strong momentum.

2. What are the main behavioral or technological differences you observe between Balkan eCommerce markets, for example Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, and Serbia, in terms of market maturity, logistics, or digital payment adoption?

When you look closely, the behavioural and technological differences across the Balkans aren’t as dramatic as many people expect. Customers in Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, and Serbia follow very similar patterns in how they shop, what they expect from delivery, and how quickly they adopt new digital tools.

The bigger gaps actually come from market structure, not consumer mindset. Romania and Greece are naturally larger and have higher overall consumption, but in terms of tech use and customer behaviour, the region is surprisingly aligned.

Where we do see real separation is between EU members and the Western Balkan markets. EU countries enjoy far easier cross-border operations and higher GDP levels, which immediately creates more favourable conditions for scaling. Serbia is the closest to the EU group economically, but still below the smallest EU market in GDP terms.

And there’s one more important difference: each market has its own dominant marketplace that shapes the local rules of the game.eMAG in Romania, Skroutz in Greece, eMAG in Bulgaria, and strong local players in Serbia. These giants influence logistics expectations, payment habits, and even customer trust.

 

3. Which Balkan markets currently offer the biggest opportunities for international sellers entering the region, and what data supports that potential?

When I speak with companies entering the Balkans, my advice is almost always the same: start with Romania or Bulgaria if you want the strongest foundation for regional growth.

Romania is the largest and fastest-moving market in the region. The consumer base is big, digital spending is rising every year, and international brands already see strong results there which is why competition is intense but the upside is huge.

Bulgaria, on the other hand, is the perfect “landing zone.” It’s smaller, but extremely efficient for testing product-market fit, refining logistics, and building your local strategy before expanding to Romania, Greece, Hungary, Croatia, and the rest of the region.

And one more thing worth mentioning: from January 1st, 2026, Bulgaria’s adoption of the Euro removes one more barrier, making it even more attractive for foreign sellers who want predictability and smoother financial operations.

4. What are the top three product categories showing the highest cross-border sales growth across the Balkans?

Across the Balkans, we’ve been tracking the same three categories leading cross-border growth year after year. Even though we see local spikes in things like health supplements, functional foods, or furniture, these don’t yet translate into strong cross-border performance. The reasons vary from logistics complexity, product regulations, to higher return rates.

But the winners stay consistent:

1. Fashion: clothing and footwear.
   This category dominates everywhere. It’s lightweight, easy to ship, easy to return, and Balkan consumers are extremely brand-driven when it comes to fashion.
2. Beauty and personal care.
   Cosmetics, skincare, haircare. These products perform incredibly well cross-border because they’re small, high-margin, and customers are open to trying new brands.
3. Small home accessories.
   Home décor, small appliances, and lifestyle accessories have steadily grown, driven by good price points and simple delivery logistics.
4. How do logistics and delivery infrastructure compare across the leading Balkan markets, and where do you see the biggest improvements as we head into 2026?

From everything I’ve seen, logistics companies in the Balkans are truly world-class. In many ways, they’re ahead of what even some of the “big players” from Western Europe are doing. Our region has exceptionally strong last-mile delivery networks, highly automated sorting hubs, and a level of cooperation between courier integrators and last-mile carriers that you don’t often see elsewhere.

The best proof is always Black Friday. Every November, the volumes skyrocket, yet most companies handle the pressure impressively well with minimal delays, no chaos, and very stable operations across countries.

Looking ahead to 2026, I expect the biggest improvements in three areas:
• More automation in sorting and fulfillment
• Faster cross-border delivery inside the region
• Better integration between couriers, marketplaces, and merchants

6. What are the main challenges sellers face when expanding from one Balkan country to another: payments, taxes, or marketplace integration? How will the Balkan eCommerce Summit 2026 help them?

When a seller moves from one Balkan market to another, the biggest challenge usually isn’t payments, taxes, or even logistics. Those can be solved with the right partners. The real difficulty is understanding the local reality: the culture, the customer behaviour, and the small technical details that shape how people actually buy.

And that’s where many businesses make mistakes. They focus on product selection, pricing, 3PL partners, or marketplace accounts… but the most important decision is actually who will be your local guide. The person or organisation that knows the market from the inside. Once you have someone who can explain the small specifics, every other decision becomes much easier and far more accurate.

That’s exactly why Balkan eCommerce Summit 2026 is so valuable.

We bring together the key people from every major market. Experts, marketplace leaders, logistics providers, payment companies, agencies, the ones who know the Balkan landscape in detail. Attendees get direct access to the knowledge and support they need to navigate each market’s specifics and build a proper cross-border strategy. In short: we gather the right people, so sellers can make the right decisions.

7. Which countries in the Balkans show the strongest readiness for EU-wide and global expansion in 2026, based on seller performance and ecosystem maturity?

Cross-border has been one of my core topics for more than a decade. My own journey started back in 2015 with my first sales in Romania, and ever since then I’ve watched hundreds of businesses try to expand. What’s interesting is that most eCommerce brands in the region still operate only on their home market. This is something we observed with our Balkan Survey conducted on 5 markets. The good news is that right now I’m hearing more companies than ever say, “It’s time to explore cross-border.”

When we talk about readiness for EU-wide and even global expansion in 2026, two markets clearly stand out: Romania and Bulgaria, each for different reasons.

Bulgaria has a relatively small market, which pushes businesses to look outward much earlier. Competition is rising fast, so sellers naturally start exploring new markets as the next logical step. This creates a mindset that’s very open to cross-border.

Romania, on the other hand, is big and highly competitive. Romanian businesses grow in a tough environment, and that pressure creates maturity. Many of them are not just ready to enter new markets, they’re well-prepared to win there.

Together, these two markets are currently the strongest launchpads for wider EU or global expansion, thanks to their seller maturity, operational discipline, and increasing ambition.

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