The volume of e-commerce with online payments went up by 24 percent in Romania last year, reaching EUR 158.9 million, according to payments processor Romcard. Increase was notable on most trade areas.

Online flower sales were up 29 percent, while toy sales online grew by 23 percent. Romanians bought 21 percent more gifts online, while the growth in online sales for IT products was of 32 percent. Online donations also grew by 26 percent year-on-year in 2011.

Despite the increases in online payments and shopping Romania still trails well behind the rest of the EU. Last year 14 percent of Romanians bought goods or services over the internet compared to 82 percent in the UK, while the average across the EU is 58 percent.

The average value of a shopping basket went up from EUR 58 in 2010 to EUR 64 in 2011, according to data from the ePayment system. This system counted EUR 138 million of transactions in 2011, with peak trade months in May, June and July.

ePayment, part of Naspers-owned PayU, estimated a growth in online payments for 2012 in Romania, up to EUR 200 million.