Four categories: largest, FMCG, Hungarian, best known – on June 19, PwC Hungary presented its ranking of the most successful e-retailers of 2024 in a professional event attended by representatives of the very best of the 40-plus companies ranked. The results of the 2024 Digital Commerce Survey, the regulation of e-commerce, data-driven loyalty programs, and cybersecurity risks affecting online commerce were also discussed at the event.
The e-retailers’ top list first published ten years ago
PwC Hungary’s Digital Commerce team (formerly GKID) has published annual rankings of the top online retailers by turnover in the Hungarian market since 2015. The most successful companies in the 2024 top list were featured in four categories at an event held in PwC’s Budapest office.
In her welcome speech, Ildikó Cserjés-Kopándi, senior manager and host of the event, pointed out that while only 1,400 online retailers were sampled in the first survey, this number is now in the tens of thousands.
“Businesses that can survive in today’s fierce competition definitely deserve recognition, as they are the drivers of Hungarian and regional e-commerce.”
Gergely Márkus, Country Manager for Hungary and Slovenia at Mastercard, which participated as a professional partner in the research behind the e-retailers’ top list, also emphasized the borderless quality of digital commerce: “I’m proud to say that despite the increasingly globalised, borderless and challenging digital commerce environment, all of the 44 companies that made the list are leaders in their own segment, setting an example for online commerce, as well as for customers and the entire Hungarian economy.”
Alza.hu tops the list as e-retailer with the highest turnover
Based on online retail turnover, the largest online store in Hungary in 2024 was the Czech Alza.hu, replacing eMAG at the top of the ranking. Consolidating its market-leading position, Alza has also achieved the largest annual growth in turnover within the top 15, as well as the highest percentage and nominal increase in transactions when considering all three rankings.
The runner-up for largest online retailer was Kifli.hu, which also has a Czech parent company, while MediaMarkt took the third place. Two “newcomers,” BestByte (11th place) and Rossmann (14th place), made the overall list for the first time.
Spectacular increases and decreases among the top 15
The combined turnover of the fifteen largest e-retailers operating in the Hungarian market was HUF 463.1 billion gross in 2024, an increase of 12.4% compared to the 2023 results of the companies on this year’s list. With this result, the top 15 e-retailers make up 29% of the domestic e-commerce market, and together they achieved a 34% increase in completed orders.
Eleven of the top 15 e-retailers increased their sales in 2024, on average by almost 25%. This is 2.5 times the growth rate of the entire domestic e-commerce market, which was 9.7% during this period, according to PwC’s Digital Commerce Survey.
“The turbulent market environment also makes competition between retailers more polarized, which in many cases has widened the gap between businesses operating in the same category. In addition to above-average growth, decreases were also more significant among the top 15, as the turnover of four e-retailers decreased in 2024, with an average rate of decrease of 24%,”
New product category and biggest growth in FMCG rankings
This year 12 companies made it on to the list of the largest online FMCG retailers; two specialty retailers for pet food and supplies, Petissimo and Fressnapf, are new on the list. For the third year in a row, the Hungarian online FMCG market has been dominated by Kifli, whose success has been due in part to fast, even same-day delivery. After its stagnation in 2023, Tesco came in second place in 2024, showing spectacular double-digit growth once again. Rossmann placed third.
Looking at this year’s overall top list, the largest online FMCG retailers saw the biggest growth, with an average annual rate of 25%. Annual growth was well above 50% at Wolt Market, and the total online turnover of the top 12 FMCG retailers was HUF 156.4 billion gross in 2024. The number of completed orders reached 7.1 million, with order numbers exceeding one million for two companies, which clearly shows the effect of purchase frequency on growth.
More Hungarian e-retailers with a turnover above HUF 5 billion
While in 2022 and 2023 no new entrants joined the ranks of Hungarian e-retailers with a turnover above HUF 5 billion, in 2024, three new e-retailers – BestByte (5th place), Elektrik Store (13th place), and Coolmobile (17th place) – and one marketplace (Fizz.hu) were added to the list, which now includes 17 companies. Launched in 2024, Fizz.hu is a webshop owned by the OTP Group, which reached 15th place in the rankings after only six months of operation.
“Through the marketplace, hundreds of Hungarian retailers have access to a digital sales platform, so Fizz.hu’s success contributes to the development of the entire Hungarian e-commerce market. It also shows the increasingly close relationship between the banking sector and digital transaction markets,”
In 2024, the total turnover of the 17 largest Hungarian e-retailers was HUF 211.2 billion, and the number of completed orders was 5.6 million. The average increase in turnover for e-retailers was 15%, while the average decrease was 6%.
“Of the tens of thousands of Hungarian e-retailers only 17 have a turnover above HUF 5 billion. This number still appears to be low, and also points to tightening market conditions, exacerbated in recent years by the rise of Temu and import trade,”
For the fourth year in a row, Euronics holds the top position in the list of Hungarian retailers with the highest online turnover. Aqua remains the second largest Hungarian webshop, while iPon has returned to third place after dropping to fourth in 2023. iPon also achieved the largest annual increase in turnover in the Hungarian market, while Homelux had the largest percentage growth in the number of orders completed.
No growth without international expansion
“As PwC has repeatedly stressed in its reports, international expansion is key to the long-term and sustainable growth of Hungarian e-retailers. Several companies on this year’s list already have experience in international sales, with Pepita boasting the highest revenue from online export sales. Pepita, which holds 4th place on the list of Hungarian e-retailers and 10th in the overall ranking, would already be among Hungarian companies with an online turnover above HUF 5 billion based on its 2024 export revenues alone, which shows the business potential of expansion,”
The rankings were announced following presentations given by experts. According to the 2024 Digital Commerce Survey, the international online marketplace poses a challenge to Hungarian e-retailers, while domestic e-commerce is clearly driven by imports. Speaking of the evolving Hungarian and EU regulatory environment, Zsófia Straubinger, attorney-at-law at Réti, Várszegi & Partners Law Firm PwC Legal, highlighted the increasing fines imposed on retailers and stricter supervision.
Virág Kiss, Consultant at PwC Hungary, presented six types of loyalty personas in connection with data-driven loyalty programs, and a case study on a new loyalty program developed using automated marketing. Anita Mekler, Partner, Retail & Consumer, PwC Hungary, shared some highlights of PwC’s forthcoming global Voice of the Consumer Survey.
Péter Mondovics, Marketing Manager at Mastercard Hungary, discussed the security of online retail and payment platforms, which are increasingly exposed to cyber-attacks, emphasising the role of cross-sector collaboration in a digital ecosystem where 43% of customers are willing to walk away and do business with a competitor if they fall victim to a data breach.
Notes to editors:
Methodology
PwC’s e-retailer ranking only takes into account foreign and Hungarian-owned online retailers operating in Hungary and their turnover from domestic online retail sales. Market shares are determined by gross turnover from completed online orders for the 2024 calendar year. The ranking is based on researching online customer samples, public data collection, supply-side surveys, and turnover modelling based on data provided by the retailers. Retailers whose online sales data are not transparent or publicly accessible were only included in the public ranking upon written verification of PwC’s preliminary estimate, by completing a data request form and consenting to being named. The ranking of the best-known retailers is based on PwC’s monthly open-ended brand recognition surveys. The full survey and the rankings in all four categories are available on our website.
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