Aliexpress is the favourite international shopping platform of Latvian residents; the ordered goods are most often received in post offices

05.11.2019

Aliexpress is the international online shopping platform which receives the highest number of visits from Latvian population – it has been viewed by at least 83% of Latvian residents, while 67% have also made purchases through it. In turn, every second Latvian buyer, when making purchases in foreign online stores with a possibility to choose the way of receiving the purchased goods, has chosen to receive them in a post office of Latvijas Pasts. This is demonstrated by a survey of Latvijas Pasts on the shopping habits of Latvian residents in international e-stores conducted by Kantar*, a full-service research company, on behalf of Latvijas Pasts. 

According to the results of the survey, 58% of Latvian residents have made purchases in international online stores in the last six months, but on the whole the vast majority of Latvian population – 80% – has experience of shopping in international e-stores. Younger Latvian residents aged 18-24, as well as professionals, employees and residents with children in their families, have made purchases in international online stores relatively more often. Women and men shop for private purposes in foreign e-stores with equal frequency. 

The foreign shopping platform most often used by Latvian residents is Aliexpress. Over the last two years 83% of Latvian population have visited Aliexpress and 67% have made a purchase, with 59% of the population noting that this platform is where they do shopping most often. Aliexpress is followed by other most visited foreign online stores – Ebay, Amazon and SportsDirect, but shopping in them has been lees frequent during the last two years: 26%, 10% and 12% of Latvian residents have made purchases there, respectively. Ebay is the second international online shopping platform that 13% of Latvian residents have named as their most frequent shopping site.

The last time they made a purchase through a foreign online store, 43% of the respondents were offered the option of delivery of the goods, and 49% of them chose the post office as the most convenient place of delivery in the given situation, 24% opted for courier delivery to a specific address and 20% chose a parcel machine. Overall, 63% of the population have received the goods ordered from foreign e-stores in a post office during the last six months. 

Latvian residents mostly buy clothing, as well as mobile phones and their accessories in foreign online stores – 45% of Latvian population have bought goods in both mentioned groups of goods during the last six months. 31% have bought home improvement products, 21% have purchased footwear and 17% have ordered sporting goods and beauty products.  

Latvijas Pasts is one of the largest logistics companies in the country with the most extensive parcel delivery network in the Baltics, which consists of more than 600 post offices, the service provided by 1,300 postmen and 100 couriers, 50 Circle-K fuel stations and 61 parcel machines. 

* The survey was conducted from the 10^th to the 12^th of September 2019 by the research company Kantar, polling 850 Latvian residents aged 18-65 throughout Latvia over the Internet. 

Kantar's survey on the Internet is representative of the total Latvian population aged 18-65. The sample is based on random sampling and is organised by Kantar strictly in accordance with ESOMAR’s guidelines on online survey sample selection and conduct. 

About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with around 3,800 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.

Additional information:
Gundega Vārpa | Head of External Communications
Phone: +371 67608505
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; gundega.varpa@pasts.lv
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