Despite notable progress, Georgia continues to trail significantly behind the European Union in the share of businesses engaged in e-commerce, according to new research by Galt & Taggart.
The study shows that in 2024, only 4% of Georgian companies participated in online commerce, compared to 21% in the EU. Among large companies, however, the gap narrows: 26.6% of large Georgian firms sell online, versus 31.4% in the EU. Analysts say this highlights substantial growth potential among small and medium-sized enterprises.
According to the investment bank, Georgia’s e-commerce market is led by platforms such as Wolt, Glovo, Bolt, Yandex, biletebi.ge, and tkt.ge - with the first four being international players whose entry has significantly accelerated the sector’s development. Competition is far stronger in goods retail, where major local platforms include Veli.Store and Extra.ge, while cross-border shopping is dominated by Temu, Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Taobao, Trendyol, Zara, and Farfetch.
The report notes that Georgia’s e-commerce market has expanded tenfold since 2018, reaching 3.5 billion GEL, with growth continuing into the first half of 2025 at 40% year-on-year. Galt & Taggart forecasts the market will reach 4.7 billion GEL in 2025. In 2024, 61% of online sales were domestic, while 39% came from international orders.
Around 10,000 companies in Georgia sell products online, with 57.8% using third-party platforms such as Wolt, Glovo, Yandex, Bolt, Veli.Store, and Extra.ge. Many businesses use a hybrid model, selling through both their own websites and external platforms.
Among foreign platforms, China’s Temu dominates in Georgia after contracting its own shipping partners, significantly simplifying the delivery process. By contrast, most international shops do not ship directly to Georgia, forcing customers to rely on freight-forwarding companies - a process that typically takes 2–3 weeks and requires multiple steps, including shipment to a foreign warehouse, forwarding to Georgia, local pickup or courier delivery, and customs declarations with 18% VAT on orders above 300 GEL. This complexity, the report states, remains one of the main drawbacks of international ordering, with Temu being the main exception.
According to Galt & Taggart, Georgian consumers typically purchase clothing, electronics, cosmetics, perfumes, and household goods from international platforms.
