Gyula Pomázi, deputy secretary of state at the ministry, cited data released by market researcher eNet which show that revenues of Hungarian e-commerce already reached HUF 427 billion in 2016. According to even pessimistic forecasts, they may reach HUF 854 bln by 2021, while optimistic estimates say around HUF 939-1,110 bln.

Market researcher GfK said that 87% of the Hungarian population has completed an online purchase – up from 72% in 2012-2013 – but only 31% are placing orders regularly at web shops.

The most popular products purchased online are electronics, with a market share of 19.4% in the period January-June 2017. However, this is not threatening traditional store sales; on the contrary,  GfK says, they support each other, as customers use both channels.

The future holds other opportunities, such as cashier-free stores, face recognition, and augmented reality. Face recognition technologies are expanding rapidly, mainly in the security sector, vg.hu notes.