The movement restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic created an ideal environment for online shopping to thrive.
While e-commerce sales accounted for 14 percent of total customer spending both online and offline worldwide in 2019, the ratio increased to 19 percent in 2020, according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
In countries like South Korea where digital commerce has always been embedded in consumer culture, the share rose from 20.8% in the pre-pandemic year to 25.9% in 2020, UNCTD reported on May 3.
Ukraine, too, moved with the global trend. Thanks to multiple lockdowns, e-commerce, which was already been doing well prior to the pandemic, has grown in popularity.
During 2020, the country spent Hr 107 billion (around $4 billion) online. Ukraine’s e-commerce market grew by 41% compared to 2019, according to EVO Group, a Ukrainian IT company that creates marketplaces like Prom.ua where goods and services are sold. In 2021, the market is expected to reach Hr 137 billion (around $5.1 billion).
Ukraine’s online spending is still lower than other European countries’ like Poland, which is ranked as the world’s 18th largest e-commerce market, with a revenue of $13 billion in 2020.
However, Ukrainians shop online more. E-commerce accounted for 9% of all retail purchases in Ukraine in 2020, compared to 8% in Poland.
Growing salaries for online merchants
More spending means bigger salaries for merchants, according to analysis conducted by Payoneer, a leading cross-border payments platform for businesses.
Payoneer looked into the earnings of self-employed entrepreneurs in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Odesa and Dnipro during the first half of 2021.
The average monthly salary of online sellers in these five cities was $3,946 — more than seven times what the average Ukrainian earns. The average salary in Ukraine was Hr 14,313 (around $537) in June, according to the Finance Ministry.
Online merchants in Kyiv make the most, with an average salary of $4,920, followed by Odesa ($4,880), Dnipro ($3,650), Lviv ($3,560) and Kharkiv ($2,720).
However, compared to the other four big cities, freelancers in the capital earn the least. Kyivan freelancers got an average monthly income of $1,170 this year, compared to $3,840 in Odesa, $1,460 in Dnipro, $1,440 in Kharkiv and $1360 in Lviv.
While online goods vendors are doing well, some content providers are doing even better, especially in Odesa. Streamers in Odesa earned an average of $16,620 per month this year, according to the research. The earnings of streamers in other cities were nowhere near as high.
