Η PayPal, one of the leading services that facilitates world trade, is currently publishing data on cross-border trade between Greece and the rest of the world.
Greek merchants using the PayPal saw an increase in payments from the outside of 30% in the first half of 2014.
Payments from abroad via PayPal received by Greek traders increased by 30% in the first half of 2014, compared to 2013. Basic categories of exports included travel services, internet services, fashion and household items, car parts, books, software and mobile phones. 2014, over 10.000 active marketers in Central and Eastern Europe, teamed up with PayPal to expand their operations internationally.
Beyond Greece, international statistics show that online exports continue to grow steadily, regardless of the fact that exports of local and traditional products are slowing down in many markets. This trend is evident mainly within the borders of 27 members of the EU, where transport costs are relatively low, without tariffs. While at least 10% of Greek sellers sell online, 44% of them received orders from other European countries 2012.
"The size of this opportunity is not negligible and should not be underestimated. 2013 cross-border trade surpassed 10's two billion dollars, accounting for 25% of its total volume of payments PayPal that year, while new online export corridors are emerging at a rapid pace. "I am particularly pleased that Greece is among the fastest growing export markets in the region of Central and Eastern Europe and beyond," said Damien Perillat, Managing Director of PayPal in the Region of Central and Eastern Europe.
Europe at the forefront of the best foreign markets for Greek traders in the first half of 2014
Greek merchants accept orders mainly from consumers in Europe, including the United Kingdom (16%) and Germany (10%), but North America remains as a key online money market in 31%. Interestingly, the distribution of key markets due to the impressive increase in the value of Greek exports has remained virtually the same in recent years.
Success factors for Greek merchants
There are two reasons that lead to the success of Greek stores abroad: the authentic, unique ones products and competitive prices. Most Western cross-border consumers admit they buy from abroad because it costs less (80%) or because they find "more variety in items they can't get locally" (79%).
Η AirTickets, το electronic ταξιδιωτικό πρακτορείο που διευκολύνει την εύρεση και την αγορά αεροπορικών εισιτηρίων, τη διαμονή σε καταλύματα, την ενοικίαση αυτοκινήτων, τις οδικές μετακινήσεις, καθώς και τις εκδρομές και άλλες τουριστικές δραστηριότητες παγκοσμίως, παρατηρεί μεγάλη αύξηση του όγκου των διασυνοριακών του πωλήσεων να έχει προκύψει μέσω της PayPal. Άλλοι δημοφιλείς έμποροι περιλαμβάνουν για παράδειγμα την εταιρεία Datasteam Technologies, η οποία εξειδικεύεται σε παιχνίδια online.
"The globalization of sales and the opportunities offered by Internetmas helped to expand our business activities and reach out to consumers outside the Greek borders. Today, we sell our products to over 9 countries around the world and we use PayPal as well as other payment methods in order to receive payments. All we did in fact was to take advantage of and realize its opportunities Internet και τις αυξανόμενες δυνατότητες των φορητών συσκευών. Δίχως άλλο, αυτό μας βοήθησε στο να βελτιώσουμε τον τρόπο με τον οποίο καλύπτουμε τις προσδοκίες των πελατών μας, και παράλληλα να πάμε την επιχείρησή μας στο επόμενο επίπεδο» - δήλωσε ο κ. Περικλής Κουτσογιάννης, CEO of Datasteam Technologies SA.
“We fully understand and take full advantage of the new opportunities and advantages of e-business with a large product base. This is exactly why we currently offer our services in over 15 countries around the world. THE PayPal has proven to be a foremost partner as it provides us with a payment method tool that makes the sale process safer, convenient and easily accessible to our customers, "said George Baliouskas, Commercial Director of Airtickets Tourist Enterprises Ltd.
Understanding foreign consumers
Consumers who buy from stores owned by Greek merchants prefer to use PayPal, given the fact that it offers them better safety και προστασία στις συναλλαγές τους. Αυτό σημαίνει πως οι αγοραστές μπορούν να αιτηθούν την επιστροφή χρημάτων σε περίπτωση μη παραλαβής του προϊόντος που αγόρασαν ή επειδή το είδος δεν ταιριάζει με την περιγραφή που παρείχε ο πωλητής. Σύμφωνα με την έρευνα Ipsos Vantis4 που έλαβε χώρα σε πολλές ευρωπαϊκές αγορές, οι αγοραστές από το United Kingdom (62% locally and 58% internationally), Germany (65% locally and 58% internationally) and France (40%) choose the solution of PayPal and always prefer it when it is provided as one of the payment methods.
The survey also notes that one third of cross-border buyers from countries like the UK, Germany and France do not even realize that the product was bought by a foreign trader. In recent years, Greek stores have grown, matured and started looking for opportunities abroad. The most important businesses offer the user interface in the most popular languages, such as English and German. The purchase and redemption process has also been improved through portable media, and each mission can be traced almost in real time.
