In an Ipsos survey commissioned by logistics company DODO, 29% of respondents said they now buy from Hungarian webshops the products they would previously have ordered from Asian platforms. Another 21% shop at online stores in other EU member states. Hungarian shoppers aren’t just cutting back on Chinese shopping sites: many say they’re moving their orders to EU-based stores.
The research, reported by MTI, links that shift to new EU customs duties on low-value parcels arriving from outside the bloc, which took effect in July. According to the survey, two-thirds of Hungarians changed their online shopping habits in response to the measures, while half of respondents are looking for an alternative operating within the EU.
Temu, Shein and AliExpress have long been associated with cheap online shopping. In recent months, though, more Hungarian consumers have been reconsidering whether ordering from these platforms is still a good deal. Of those surveyed, 29% said they had stopped using Asian webshops altogether, while another 33% said they were buying from them less often. A further 5% still order regularly but try to include fewer product categories in each purchase.
The decline in incoming parcels isn’t just reflected in shoppers’ accounts. In its October 14 update, Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration said fewer low-value consignments had arrived from non-EU countries since the July measures took effect. That supports the reported slowdown in imports, but it doesn’t establish how much spending has shifted to Hungarian or other EU retailers. The figures describing that switch come from respondents’ reported shopping habits, not independently verified sales data.
Delivery preferences were another focus of the survey. It found that 63% of Hungarians choose parcel lockers for parcel collection, allowing them to pick up orders when it suits them rather than plan their day around a courier. For 43% of respondents, avoiding an all-day wait at home was specifically why they preferred lockers.
A quarter of respondents said a delivery had forced them to stay home or rearrange their daily plans. Failed deliveries were another frustration: 15% said a courier hadn’t delivered their shipment, citing the recipient’s absence. Meanwhile, 13% said their parcel had been redirected to a collection point because they weren’t home when delivery was attempted.
Shoppers also identified specific ways to make delivery more flexible. Some 40% of survey participants want to choose their delivery time in advance, while 30% want more accurate, detailed information about their parcel’s current location and delivery status.
Source: MTI.
