EXPLAINING ONLINE PURCHASES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: A COUNTRY-LEVEL PERSPECTIVE

CEPOI, Cosmin-Octavian; CIUMARA, Tudor

doi:10.65672/jfme.2025.1.17

EXPLAINING ONLINE PURCHASES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: A COUNTRY-LEVEL PERSPECTIVE

Authors

CEPOI, Cosmin-Octavian — Centre for Financial and Monetary Research “Victor Slavescu”, N.I.E.R., Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania
CIUMARA, Tudor — Centre for Financial and Monetary Research “Victor Slavescu”, N.I.E.R., Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania

Landing page: https://www.icfm.ro/jfme.icfm.ro/articles/vol13i1p184-190.html

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DOI: 10.65672/jfme.2025.1.17

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Abstract

This paper investigates the determinants of online purchases in the European Union using annual country-level data for 2020–2023. We focus on macroeconomic (GDP per capita, inflation, consumption share), institutional (regulatory quality), technological (internet penetration, broadband subscriptions), and demographic (share of population aged 65+) factors. Our estimates shows that income, regulatory quality, and internet use are strongly and positively associated with online shopping, while consumption share is negatively related. Inflation exerts a modest positive effect, and ageing unexpectedly supports digital uptake. The findings highlight that online purchases depend not only on technology but also on income, institutions, and demographics. We bring an EU-wide update for 2020–2023 and show which country-level factors move with online buying. We also flag a measurement gap: fixed lines are a weak stand-in for day-to-day retail connectivity, so future work should add mobile metrics (4G/5G coverage, typical downlink, data affordability).

JEL Classification

D12, L81, O52, E31

Keywords

online purchases, European Union, digital infrastructure, ecommerce

How to cite

CEPOI, Cosmin-Octavian; CIUMARA, Tudor (2025). EXPLAINING ONLINE PURCHASES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: A COUNTRY-LEVEL PERSPECTIVE. Journal of Financial Management and Economics, 13(1), 184-190. DOI: 10.65672/jfme.2025.1.17.

RePEc record

Handle: Repec:vls:rojfme:v:13:y:2025:i:1:p:184-190