Why cash on delivery still works in Europe [Sponsored]
In a market that has spent a decade moving to cards, digital wallets and one-click checkout, cash on delivery can look like a relic. The customer pays the courier at the door, only once the parcel is ... Cash on delivery still converts across European ecommerce.
Key Takeaways
- Why COD persists, who it's for, and what to weigh when choosing a fulfilment partner.
- In markets where shoppers are wary of paying upfront for an unfamiliar brand, the option to pay only once the parcel has arrived removes the single biggest barrier to a first order.
That dynamic is strongest where local courier habits and category-specific trust barriers still support paying on delivery.
- By transaction volume, Polish ecommerce is dominated by BLIK and account-to-account payments, yet COD remains a familiar and widely offered option, particularly for trust-sensitive categories and first-time purchases.
According to WAPI, the cross-border fulfilment platform that handles COD across 19 European markets, the method performs most strongly where buyer trust gates the sale, in categories such as supplements, cosmetics and consumer electronics.
- These are exactly the purchases where a shopper hesitates to pay in advance, and where the reassurance of paying on delivery turns a browser into a buyer.
The second group is cross-border sellers and the media buyers running performance campaigns into those markets.
- These are company-reported figures that move with vertical, traffic quality, season and the seller's own pricing, but the spread is consistent enough to plan around.
Stats & Key Facts
- #According to WAPI, the cross-border fulfilment platform that handles COD across 19 European markets, the method performs most strongly where buyer trust gates the sale, in categories such as supplements, cosmetics and consumer electronics.
- #According to WAPI, buyout across its strongest European markets typically sits between 75 and 85 percent, averaging around 80 percent.
![Why cash on delivery still works in Europe [Sponsored]](https://cdn.tech.eu/uploads/2026/07/cod-14.png)
Why COD persists, who it's for, and what to weigh when choosing a fulfilment partner. 1 hour ago Share Share Send email Copy link In a market that has spent a decade moving to cards, digital wallets and one-click checkout, cash on delivery can look like a relic. The customer pays the courier at the door, only once the parcel is in their hands.
Yet in parts of Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, COD is not fading away. It still drives a meaningful share of ecommerce conversions, and for brands expanding across borders it often decides whether a new market opens up or stalls. The reason is less about habit than about trust.
In markets where shoppers are wary of paying upfront for an unfamiliar brand, the option to pay only once the parcel has arrived removes the single biggest barrier to a first order. That dynamic is strongest where local courier habits and category-specific trust barriers still support paying on delivery. It is precisely where cross-border sellers tend to look for their next stage of growth.
For more details please read the original article at Tech.eu.
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