OREANDA-NEWS. July 31, 2012. Starting from May 2012, Eesti Pank has been collecting and disclosing statistics on purchases made from the Internet. According to the information gathered, Estonian residents have bought goods and services online in the value of 126 million euros1 since May. The means of payment was either the Bank Link service or a bank card, reported the press-centre of Eesti Pank.

94% of domestic online shopping payments were made directly from the bank account using the Bank Link service. 87% of payments for internet purchases from other countries were made by bank cards. 51% of such payments were made by a credit card and 49% by a debit card with credit card functionality. Around half of those paying for their Internet purchases by a bank card used cards issued outside Estonia.

According to Statistics Estonia, the number of online shoppers in Estonia has nearly tripled since 2005 (from 70,000 in 2005 to 210,000 in 2011). More than half (54%) of those buying from the Internet are women. About a third of online purchases are tickets to concerts, to the theatre, to the movies, etc., and travel and accommodation services also make up nearly a third. 26% are clothing and sports equipment and 15% are books, magazines and e-learning materials.

According to end-2011 data of Eurostat, the share of online shoppers is about twice smaller in Estonia than in the European Union (16% and 34%, respectively). At the same time, the amount of Internet commerce consumers has increased by an average of 24% a year in Estonia (13% in the EU). Looking ahead, the number of online shoppers is likely to grow even more, since a 2011 survey by TNS Emor2 revealed that every fifth resident of Estonia was planning to make purchases from abroad. 

Eesti Pank's payment statistics show that an average of 763,000 card payments was made each day in the second quarter of 2012. Compared to the same time a year ago, the number of card payments has increased by 3% and the turnover by 12%, making up 2.3 billion euros in the second quarter.

1The statistics covers cumulative data on credit institutions that operate as payment institutions in Estonia.

2The 2011 September TNS Emor survey included 981 households, with people aged 18-74 questioned. The statistical accuracy limit was 3.1 pp. The survey was commissioned by Eesti Pank. TNS Emor has been conducting the F-monitoring survey since 1998. The aim of the survey is to map changes in the Estonian residents' use of money and financial-behaviour possibilities and desires.