## 1 Introduction
In comparison, in the Nordic countries, the percentage of those shopping online is as high as 95%. In 2022, the northwest and central regions of Romania stood out with the highest proportion of people opting to shop online. However, overall, residents of Bucharest and the county Ilfov ranked first, with 58.3% saying they had made purchases online in the last three months. About half of the Romanians using e-commerce services place two orders in three months and only 12% shop online up to six times a month [10]. In addition, 49% are willing to pay a higher price for a well-known brand and 57% are willing to invest more in eco-friendly products. In terms of product categories, in 2022, Romanians spent significant amounts online in the following areas: fashion--\(\upxi 2.63\) billion (representing 46% of the total e-commerce market); electronics--\(\upxi 1.1\) billion (19%); personal and home care products--\(\upxi 885\) million (15%); toys, hobbies, DIY--\(\upxi 590\) million (10%); food--\(\upxi 146\) million (2.6%); furniture--\(\upxi 125\) million (2.2%); music, movies, games--\(\upxi 88.9\) million (1.5%); drinks--\(\upxi 32.1\) million (0.5%) [11]. At the same time, 21% of Romanians buy online from foreign websites. In terms of the origin of these platforms, almost a third prefer online shops in China (27%), followed by those in EU Member States (23%) and the USA (4%). The report highlights that the main reasons why Romanians choose to shop online are to save time (85%), avoid the stress associated with shopping in physical stores (70%) and to save money (69%). At the same time, those who do not opt for online purchasescite as reasons the desire to see the products before purchase (64%), lack of confidence in receiving the product ordered (55%), concern about high delivery costs (50%), and lack of knowledge needed to order online (15%) [12]. Many respondents also indicated that they give up shopping online because of a lack of complete product information, pictures, descriptions, or reviews. In terms of the preferred payment method, payment on delivery remains the most used (31%), followed by online payment by card (26%), digital wallet and mobile payments (23%), bank transfers (19%), and other methods. The report in the eBook E-Commerce Growth Strategies (Limitless Agency), developed to educate and support the Romanian e-commerce market, is a comprehensive resource containing over 90 tested strategies and recommendations for optimizing online sales [5]. It is written with input from 24 experts in the fields of e-commerce, online marketing, e-commerce technologies, design, logistics, and legislation, and is dedicated to entreprene looking to expand their online presence, online marketing investors and marketing specialists managing online stores [13]. According to data provided by the latest European E-Commerce Report 2023, cited by the Romanian Association of Online Shops (ARMO) [14], Romania ranks 3 rd in Central and Eastern Europe and 12 th in the whole of Europe in terms of online sales of goods and services, contributing to 3.17% of the GDP. Within the European Union, Romania maintains the same leading position in Central and Eastern Europe, ranking 3 rd after Poland and the Czech Republic in terms of online sales volume. Romania's e-commerce sector accounts for almost 60% of the total sales of goods and services in Eastern Europe, generating an estimated turnover of 69.95 billion in 2023, out of a total of 617.6 billion [15]. Although the most significant e-commerce figures are recorded in the UK, France, and Germany, Romania stands out for its impressive growth in sales volume, with a 51% increase, ranking second in Europe in this respect after Estonia (with a 106% increase); see Figure 1.  
This article starts with introductory and prospective notions of the e-commerce market in Romania, as well as what the online market in this country looks like, focusing on the most important characteristics of the user type and the impact that this segment has generated in the economic area.