MasterIndex: 48 percent of Croatians shop online at least once a month

Almost half of Croatian citizens shop online at least once a month, primarily purchasing clothing and footwear, and they almost exclusively pay with cards, according to the MasterIndex research published on Wednesday.

The new MasterIndex research was conducted for Mastercard by the agency Improve in April of this year, surveying over 1,000 banking service users aged 18 to 55. It revealed that online shopping has now become a common part of consumer behavior, as evidenced by the fact that nearly half of citizens (48 percent) shop online at least once a month.

It was highlighted that 93 percent of citizens pay for their online purchases with cards. As expected, young people and citizens with higher incomes lead in online shopping, with the most purchases being made for clothing and footwear (75 percent), electronics (42 percent), cosmetic products (37 percent), and tickets for movies, theaters, and concerts (32 percent).

Almost half of citizens have three or more cards

The research also showed that 96 percent of Croatian citizens use at least one card, and almost half have three or more. Debit cards are the most common choice, used by 86 percent of respondents, while 47 percent use credit cards, with the ‘charge’ variant (38 percent) being more popular than the ‘revolving’ option (18 percent). ‘Prepaid’ cards are used by 28 percent of citizens.

Card usage increases with age and income, as citizens over 40 years old and those with higher incomes have an average of 2.8 cards, while almost half of respondents (44 percent) have three or more cards.

At physical retail locations, 70 percent of citizens pay with cards three or more times a week, with card payments being most commonly used by individuals aged 40 to 49 (38 percent), those with higher education (37 percent), and those with higher incomes.

Growth in the use of virtual cards via mobile phones or smartwatches

A particularly interesting finding of the research was the growth in the use of virtual cards via mobile phones or smartwatches, which 24 percent of respondents use as a payment method, representing a seven percentage point increase compared to last year. Among young people aged 18 to 29, as many as one-third use this type of payment.

Installment payments are becoming an important tool for citizens, with more than half of respondents (53 percent) already using installment payments, which allows for better cost allocation (60 percent) and easier payment of larger amounts (58 percent). This payment method is more popular among those over 40 years old and citizens with higher incomes. Just over one-third state that thanks to installments, they can afford certain things they otherwise could not (34 percent).

According to the research, tips via cards are becoming increasingly accepted, with 31 percent of citizens having used this option. This represents a significant increase of 12 percentage points compared to last year.