Marketing

Greece has entered the second phase in lifting its lockdown, with all remaining retail stores that had been shut down in March allowed to reopen and the final grade of high school resuming classes.

Deputy Development and Investments Minister Nikos Papathanassis on Friday announced a second wave of loosened restrictions in business activity as of May 11, that includes stores selling clothing, home appliances and cosmetics.

One in two Romanians who have access to the internet currently buys food, coffee and hygiene products online, and over 60% of respondents intend to continue buying online, according to an iVox.ro study commissioned by Blugento, a Romanian company, provider of complete eCommerce solutions.

E-commerce sales hit $25.6 trillion globally in 2018, up 8% from 2017, according to the U.N.'s trade and development body on April 27. 
The estimated 2018 e-commerce sales value, which includes business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) sales, was equivalent to 30% of global GDP that year, according to U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Online shopping is continuing to increase in the European Union (EU). Together with increasing use of the internet and improving security standards, consumers appreciate the possibilities of being able to shop anytime, anywhere, with access to a wide range of products and easy price comparisons.

Brent oil price dived below $30 per barrel on April 14 with rising oversupply in the global market due to low oil consumption around the world.

Price of the international benchmark hit $29.85 a barrel at 1548GMT for a daily loss of 5.95% after closing Monday at $31.74 per barrel.

Consumers have increasingly moved shopping to online platforms in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak which is also forcing Turkey's retailers to adapt to this new trend.

The country has introduced a series measures and restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, including the closure of shopping malls and non-essential stores.

One of the big winners of the Greek lockdown has been jigsaw puzzles. Greeks both young and old have sent online sales of this category of table games soaring 1,654 percent month-on-month, according to a survey that tracked the switch of consumers to online purchases because of the Covid-19 restrictions.

Greek supermarkets are trying to handle the sudden jump in demand at their online stores through cooperations with courier companies, online food order and delivery platforms, and even Uber. This is in a period when their physical stores have also come under great pressure due to panic buying amid the coronavirus outbreak, especially last month.

The retail chains will be obliged to sell Bulgarian foodstuffs, which will occupy at least half of their commercial space - announced the branch organizations in agriculture, to which the project has been sent for coordination.