Ljubljana - Online shopping has retained the popularity gained during the Covid-19 pandemic with three out of four of those questioned in a survey commissioned by Mastercard Slovenija saying they shop online at least sometimes. A growing number make their purchases at Slovenian sites.

The Masterindex survey, conducted by Mediana among 1,000 bank service customers aged 18 to 55, showed 68% made an online purchase in the past month and an additional 19% did so in the past three months.

More than 60% of those questioned buy online as much as they did before the pandemic, Mastercard Slovenija said in a press release.

An increasing number make their purchases at Slovenian online shopping sites. The share of those who more often opt for a Slovenian site rose to 45% from 36% last year, as the proportion of those who prefer to shop at foreign online stores dropped to 18% from 22%.

More than half of those questioned (56%) mostly buy clothes online as 40% mostly buy household appliances and 39% mostly buy electronic devices in such a way.

Online buying for travel and leisure rose to 19%, which is nearly the pre-pandemic level.

Slovenian customers prefer foreign sites over Slovenian when buying travel-related goods and services and investment services.

As Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted, the number of Slovenians travelling abroad rose to 63% from 43% in 2021. The share of those who are planning to travel over the next six months rose to 66% from 52% in 2017.

The proportion of those who confirm their online purchases with a mobile phone rose to 49% from 43% the year before, the Masterindex survey shows.