TIRANA, July 11 – While the overwhelming majority of more than 90 percent Albanian enterprises have internet access, only less than half of them have a website and use social networks which prevents them to take advantage of the booming e-commerce global market, according to a nationwide survey with mid-sized enterprises employing more than 10 people.
The survey conducted by state statistical institute INSTAT shows only one out of ten enterprises in Albania was engaged in e-commerce in 2015.
“E-commerce is mainly carried out by ICT enterprises (27 percent), transport and warehousing enterprises (24 percent) and professional, scientific and technical activities (22.3 percent). Only 3.6 percent of construction companies and 6.5 percent of manufacturing firms sold or purchased products and services online in 2015,” showed the survey.
E-commerce usage in Albania and other Western Balkans countries remains considerably below the European Union, where the region aspires integration.
Some 40 percent of enterprises in the EU-28 made purchases electronically back in 2014 but only 19 percent made electronic sales, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Albania had some 6,000 mid-sized enterprises with 10 to 49 workers at the end of 2015, accounting for 7.5 percent of total enterprises, according to INSTAT. Most of these companies operate in the services sector dominated by trade and the booming call center services. Some 645 of them are foreign-run, mainly Italian.
In the latest 2016 Global Information Technology Report published by the World Economic Forum, Albania slightly improved to 84th among 139 countries, but lagging behind almost all regional competitors.
Albania ranks 55th among 130 global economies in e-commerce, according to a recent report published by UNCTAD, the United Nations body responsible for dealing with development issues, particularly international trade.
The report covering data on internet use, secure servers, credit card penetration and postal delivery services, unveiled that transition economies such as Albania have a relatively high degree of home postal delivery whereas credit card penetration is low compared with most developing regions.
