In 2023, 8% of EU firms used Artificial Intelligence. Among the Union countries, the lowest use of AI technologies was in Romania (1.5%), according to the report “Digitalization in Europe – 2024 edition”, published by Eurostat.
Artificial intelligence Photo: © BiancoBlue | Dreamstime.com
The highest was in Denmark and Finland (both with 15%), followed by Luxembourg and Belgium (both with 14%).
What do we use the internet for? What are our shopping habits and what internet connected devices we use
In 2023, in the EU, 58% of Internet users aged 65-74 searched online for health information, 57% did online banking and 36% participated in social networks.
Romania is in fourth place in the use of the Internet for social networks, in the last places in the use of the Internet to communicate with others (instant messaging) and in the penultimate place in the use of the Internet for the search for health information, the authors of the report also show.
In 2023, 91% of people in the EU reported using the internet in the last 3 months. A closer look at what they did online shows that the internet was mainly used to communicate with others, for example sending or receiving emails (86% of internet users) and instant messaging (82%).
The following online activities were also very popular:
- 75% used it to make phone or video calls
- 70% relied on the internet to find information about goods and services
- 70% read online news sites or newspapers
- 70% did online banking
- 65% participated in social media
- 62% have searched online for health information.
- 70% of internet users do their banking online
Looking more closely at internet banking, 70% of internet users used online banking services in 2023, compared to 55% in 2013.
Online banking is most popular among 25-64 year olds (73%), compared to 62% of 16-year-olds. at 24 and 57% of those aged 65-74. Among EU countries, internet banking is most commonly used in Denmark and Finland (both 97%), the Netherlands (96%), Estonia and Latvia (both 91%).
Online shopping
People also use the internet to buy goods and services. In recent years, online shopping has become very popular. In 2023, 75% of Europeans said they bought or ordered goods or services online, up from 57% in 2013.
In 2023, the share of internet users who bought goods or services over the internet in the last 12 months ranged from 54% in Bulgaria and 55% in Romania to 93% in both the Netherlands and Ireland.
E-commerce was most popular among 16-24 year olds (82%) compared to 25-64 year olds (78%). Meanwhile, more than half (52%) of 65- to 74-year-olds shopped online in 2023.
Clothes are the most popular online purchases
In 2023, of the people who bought online in the last 3 months, 70% bought clothes, shoes or accessories.
Online shoppers also bought the following goods and services:
- 36% bought tickets to cultural or other events
- 35% movies and series streamed or downloaded
- 33% have rented a room, apartment or house through a website or app
- 33% purchased the transport service
- 30% ordered delivery from restaurants
- 28% bought cosmetics.
Looking at the purchase of clothes, shoes and accessories, Cyprus recorded the highest share of online shoppers ordering clothes (82%), ahead of Romania (80%) and Bulgaria (78%). In contrast, the lowest proportions were found among online shoppers in Latvia (56%), Estonia (57%) and Finland (58%).
1 in 3 online shoppers experienced problems
While online shopping comes with a number of benefits, customers can also face problems when shopping online.
In 2023, of people who bought online in the last 3 months, 33% experienced problems when shopping online through a website or app. In EU countries, the highest shares of online shoppers experiencing problems were recorded in Luxembourg (56%), the Netherlands (55%) and Spain (50%). In contrast, Portugal had the lowest proportion of online shoppers experiencing problems when shopping online (4%), followed by Latvia (14%) and Cyprus (15%). In Romania, 22.4% of buyers encountered problems.
The most common problem faced by e-shoppers in the EU was slower than indicated delivery speed, with 19% of e-shoppers reporting this problem. For 11% of online shoppers, the website was too difficult to use or did not work satisfactorily, while 9% cited wrong or damaged goods or services as the main problem encountered.
44% of EU citizens lack basic digital skills
In 2023, over 90% of people in the EU used the internet at least once a week. However, only 56% had basic or higher digital skills.
In EU countries, the share of people with basic digital skills or above basic digital skills was highest in 2023 in the Netherlands (83%) and Finland (82%), ahead of Ireland (73%), Denmark (70%) ) and the Czech Republic. (69%).
45% of EU businesses use the cloud, mostly for email
Cloud computing services allow businesses to access computing resources hosted by third parties over the Internet, rather than building or expanding their own IT infrastructure. This is a significant advantage for enterprises, as creating their own infrastructure would involve hardware and software development.
In 2023, 45% of EU businesses have purchased cloud computing services. Large enterprises are more likely to opt for cloud solutions compared to SMBs. In 2023, 78% of large companies have purchased cloud services, while 44% of SMBs have.
Among companies using cloud computing, the majority (83%) relied on the cloud to host their email systems, 68% used it for file storage and 66% for office software such as CPU of text and spreadsheets.
Cloud usage varies significantly across EU countries, with the highest shares in Finland (78%), Sweden (72%) and Denmark (70%).
SourcePhoto: © BiancoBlue | Dreamstime.com
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