🇸🇮 Danica Omrčen: Regional Expansion Is the Biggest Growth Opportunity for Balkan E-commerce
Regional expansion, smarter use of data, and AI-powered decision-making are becoming the foundations of successful e-commerce.
In this interview, Danica Omrčen, Regional Business Development Director at ePonuda and Shoptok and Brand Ambassador for Slovenia of the 9th Regional E-commerce Conference, shares her perspective on the trends that will shape the industry over the next year, why businesses need to move beyond assumptions, and how market data and AI can unlock new growth opportunities across the Balkans.
She also explains why regional collaboration is becoming increasingly important and why she believes the 9th Regional E-commerce Conference in Skopje is the place where e-commerce professionals can build valuable partnerships, exchange practical knowledge, and prepare for the next phase of growth.
1. What is one e-commerce trend that you believe will significantly shape the industry over the next 12 months?
One major development will be the expansion of Google Shopping into new markets across the region. The announced expansion includes markets such as North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia. It will change the customer journey by allowing consumers to compare products, prices and retailers directly in Google before visiting an online store.
This also creates an important opportunity for Comparison-Shopping Services (CSS) as is Eponuda in Serbia and BiH and Shoptok in Croatia and Slovenia. We already process merchants’ product feeds and have data on demand, clicks, price competitiveness and top-performing products. This means we can help merchants decide which products to include and prioritise in their Google feeds, instead of advertising the entire catalogue without a clear strategy.
Independent Comparison Shopping Services can also help merchants access Google Shopping more efficiently. However, the exact CSS framework and commercial benefits will depend on how Google implements the programme in each new market. Google’s current official CSS programme is still limited to selected European countries.
2. What is one thing businesses should stop doing in e-commerce – and one thing they should start doing immediately?
Businesses should stop treating all products, traffic sources and customers in the same way. Not every product has the same sales potential, and not every click has the same value.
They should start operating in a more data-driven way, especially at product level. They need to understand which products generate demand, where they lose visibility to competitors, whether their prices are competitive and which parts of the catalogue deserve additional investment.
Data is only valuable when it leads to a clear action, such as changing a price, increasing visibility, expanding the assortment or stopping investment in products that do not perform.
3. What is the biggest opportunity for e-commerce businesses in the Balkans right now?
The biggest opportunity is regional expansion. The Balkans consist of several smaller markets, but customer needs, leading categories and purchasing behaviour are often similar. A merchant with a strong catalogue, competitive pricing and reliable logistics can use the same foundation to enter neighbouring markets much faster than before.
The companies that adapt their execution locally but approach technology, data and partnerships regionally will have a clear advantage.
4. How is AI changing the way you work, and what is one AI tool or use case you believe every e-commerce professional should know about?
At ePonuda, we have access to a large amount of real-time market data, including product demand, clicks, category performance, price positions and daily lists of the most popular products.
AI helps me analyse this data faster and turn it into clear commercial recommendations for merchants and brands. Instead of only showing them what happened, we can identify where demand is growing, which products are gaining attention, where visibility is too low and which categories offer the strongest potential for better performance.
For me, one of the most valuable AI use cases in e-commerce is opportunity detection. AI helps transform large volumes of market data into concrete answers about where a business should invest, which products it should prioritise and what it should change to achieve growth.
5. If you could give one piece of advice to a business that wants to grow in e-commerce, what would it be?
Do not try to grow everything at the same time. Stop relying on assumptions and trying to optimise thousands of products manually.
E-commerce teams spend a significant amount of time monitoring competitors, prices, demand, visibility and product performance. The real challenge is not collecting more data, but identifying where the biggest commercial opportunities are.
My advice is to use platforms and partners that can turn market data into clear priorities. At ePonuda, we can show merchants which products customers are actively looking for, where their prices are competitive, where they are losing clicks to competitors and which parts of the catalogue deserve more visibility.
This allows businesses to focus their time and budget on the products with the highest potential, instead of treating the entire assortment equally.
Growth becomes much more efficient when a business knows exactly where it can win.
6. What are you most looking forward to about the upcoming 9th Regional E-commerce Conference, and what would you say to people who are considering attending?
I am most looking forward to meeting people who are actively shaping e-commerce across the region and exchanging practical experiences about what is really working in different markets.
For anyone considering attending, I would say that this is more than a conference. It is an opportunity to build regional connections, discover new business models and understand where the industry is moving.
In a region where relationships and partnerships still play an essential role, being in the right room can create opportunities that are difficult to develop through online communication alone.