Growth in Southeast Europe
Regional survey data shows continued online sales growth across several Southeast European markets, with Hungary, Romania, and Croatia standing out as markets worth closer operational attention.
Customer acquisition is still expensive
Merchants still report acquisition as the biggest challenge, which makes every delivery failure, COD return, and fulfillment delay more expensive than it looks on paper.
Cross-border is becoming more local
Eastern Europe is increasingly treated as a logistics gateway, but success depends on local delivery models, local payment preferences, and strong regional operating partners.
Customs pressure is rising
The planned €3 duty on low-value imports into the EU is a clear signal that cheap-parcel models need better sourcing, better fulfillment positioning, and better margins.
The headline signals shaping today’s article
The latest Balkan eCommerce survey covering Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Croatia, and Hungary points to continued online sales growth in 2025, with especially strong momentum in Hungary and solid growth in Croatia and Romania.
That same regional reporting shows customer acquisition is still the biggest pain point for merchants, while Google Ads and social media remain core sales drivers and SEO continues to matter as a lower-cost long-term channel.
Cross-border logistics analysts at IMRG and Spring GDS highlight Eastern Europe as a rising gateway for e-commerce freight into Europe, especially because infrastructure, air connectivity, and localised delivery models are improving faster than many legacy operators expected.
A major structural signal for merchants shipping into the EU is the planned €3 customs duty on low-value parcels below €150 from July 2026, which increases pressure on stores that rely on ultra-cheap imports and weak customs planning.
Large logistics operators are also warning about port congestion, holiday labour limits, and route volatility in Europe, which means brands need more resilient regional fulfillment and COD collection networks rather than a single cross-border lane.
What these numbers mean for Balkan merchants
For merchants selling into Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, or nearby EU markets, the biggest lesson is not simply that e-commerce is growing. The lesson is that growth is becoming more operationally selective. Stores that can keep delivery promises, keep COD return rates under control, and expand with local trust mechanics are the stores that win.
That matters because cash-on-delivery is still not a niche payment method in these regions. It remains a mainstream conversion tool for buyers who want reassurance before paying, especially in categories where social traffic is strong and trust must be built quickly. A merchant can have a winning ad angle and still lose profit if collection, parcel visibility, and local courier coordination are weak.
The Balkan data also points to a practical reality: acquisition remains expensive. When paid traffic is volatile, operations matter more. Faster confirmations, reliable address handling, smart exception management, and predictable COD settlement directly protect margin. This is exactly where operators need software that connects leads, orders, fulfillment, and last-mile execution into one working flow.
Another important takeaway is that local complexity is no longer optional to solve. A merchant scaling from one market into three or four surrounding countries cannot treat them as one generic region. Delivery expectations, trust signals, language, call center handling, and courier behavior differ. The winners build market-by-market systems, even if the frontend brand stays unified.
In practice, this is why Balkan-focused platforms are gaining an edge over generic global tooling. The data reward goes to businesses that localize execution, not only ads.
Why the EU customs change matters now, not later
The new €3 low-value customs duty expected from July 2026 is one of the clearest signals in today’s roundup. Even before the rule fully lands, smart operators should act as if margin pressure has already started. Cheap imported parcels with low average order value will face tighter economics, more scrutiny, and a stronger need for regional warehousing or smarter sourcing.
For Trackify’s audience, the strategic implication is straightforward. If merchants want to keep selling profitably in Europe and the Balkans, they need shorter supply chains, cleaner inventory planning, and better local partner coverage. A store that fulfills regionally can lower transit risk, improve delivery speed, and absorb customs friction more effectively than a seller shipping everything one parcel at a time from far away.
This is also where local partner expansion becomes a serious growth angle. Entrepreneurs with warehouse access, courier relationships, or regional market knowledge can become infrastructure, not just resellers. As customs and logistics complexity rise, the value of a trusted local operating layer increases.
Sellers who move early will have an advantage. They can redesign product mixes, raise average order value, bundle products better, test regional stock positions, and present stronger delivery promises before competitors are forced to react under margin pressure.
So the story is bigger than a customs fee. It is a trigger that pushes e-commerce toward better operations.
Where Trackify fits in the market
Trackify is not positioned as another generic storefront tool. It is built around the operational reality of COD commerce and regional expansion. That matters because the most valuable problem to solve in these markets is often what happens after the customer clicks buy.
Trackify connects merchants, fulfillment flows, and local logistics models across Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, and surrounding opportunities. For a business trying to scale, this means clearer operational control, stronger market fit, and a cost structure that makes sense for growth-stage commerce.
The pricing context is also practical. At around €0.50 per shipment in the SaaS model, Trackify stays aligned with real unit economics instead of adding heavy fixed costs before a merchant is ready. For partner-led growth, the €0.20 per shipment partnership model creates another route for local operators who want to build distribution and logistics capacity in their own market.
That matters even more when you combine the shipment volume reality already proven by Trackify: 12,000+ shipments per month in Serbia, 1,500 to 3,000 per month in Croatia, and 3,000 to 6,000 per month in Macedonia. Those are not theory numbers. They show the platform has already been shaped by live COD traffic.
For merchants, the value is execution. For local partners, the value is leverage. For both, the value is regional fit.
Best country and partner opportunities from today’s signals
Romania remains one of the most interesting expansion markets because it combines meaningful e-commerce growth, proximity to Balkan operations, and a scale profile large enough to reward serious logistics planning. A merchant or partner who can localize messaging and delivery handling there has room to grow.
Bulgaria continues to matter as a bridge market. It sits close to core Balkan operations while connecting naturally into wider EU movement. For local partner recruitment, Bulgaria is attractive because a strong operator there can support both inbound merchant growth and regional logistics coordination.
Croatia deserves attention because it combines EU positioning with practical shipment volume already visible inside Trackify’s network. That makes it useful as both a proof market and an expansion stepping stone.
Hungary is important in the broader data even when it is not Trackify’s immediate core market, because strong growth there confirms that Eastern and Central Europe are not secondary theaters anymore. They are central to how the next wave of e-commerce infrastructure is being built.
The partner takeaway is simple: the best opportunity is rarely “Europe” in the abstract. It is one country where you can own fulfillment quality, COD handling, and merchant onboarding better than fragmented local competitors.
Operational checklist for merchants reading this roundup
First, review product economics with customs and delivery costs included, especially if your catalog depends on low-value imported items. Second, shorten the path between order capture and parcel dispatch so paid traffic does not decay into cancellations.
Third, measure COD conversion and COD failure separately by market. A market that converts well at checkout can still destroy profit if address quality, confirmation flow, or courier performance are weak.
Fourth, decide whether your next growth move is merchant-side or partner-side. Some businesses should add markets. Others should add local operators first and let capacity create the next wave of merchant acquisition.
Finally, stop treating fulfillment as a back-office topic. In 2026, fulfillment is a growth channel, a trust channel, and a margin channel at the same time.
That is why this week’s data roundup points toward the same conclusion: the operators who win in Balkan and EU COD commerce will be the ones who pair demand generation with region-specific execution.
Sobre Trackify
Trackify is a COD logistics and dropshipping platform operating across Serbia (12,000+ shipments/month), Croatia (EU market, 1,500–3,000/month), Macedonia (3,000–6,000/month), and Montenegro. Pricing: €0.50/shipment SaaS or €0.20/shipment partnership model. Designed for cash-on-delivery markets across the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and emerging markets.
Why this page exists in Trackify’s funnel
This page is built for merchants and local operators who are already searching for concrete market signals, not generic inspiration. The goal is to turn real industry data into a next step: start selling with stronger COD operations or join Trackify as a local partner.
- Need regional execution? Visit /signup/.
- Want to build a market with Trackify? Visit /become-a-local-partner/.
- Looking for COD-ready workflows instead of generic software? Trackify is built for exactly that.
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If you want help with COD operations, regional fulfillment, or local partner expansion, send a request and Trackify will follow up.