Bulgaria after Euro Adoption – Opportunity or Illusion?
The first episode of our Cross-Border Commerce Association Podcast Series – OUT NOW!
Inside the podcast
Introducing our podcast series | Episode 1: Bulgaria
Welcome.
Our mission is to share knowledge and real market understanding. And there is no better way to do that than by speaking directly with the people who shape it. That’s why we started this podcast series.
E-commerce is constantly evolving. New markets gain attention, conditions shift and what worked yesterday doesn’t always hold tomorrow.
Since January 2026, Bulgaria has adopted the euro. It’s a change that puts the country firmly on the radar of international sellers but also raises new questions.
To understand what is really happening on the ground, we sat down with Nikola Ilchev, one of the most connected e-commerce experts in the Balkans and founder of the Balkan eCommerce Summit.
What we heard challenges the common assumption:
“Bulgaria is now in the Eurozone. It should be just like Germany or Austria.” That assumption costs money.
Because:
- Customers still prefer to pay after seeing the product
- Trust is built differently than in Western Europe
- Local habits shape conversion more than currency
If you miss this, your entry will struggle from day one.
What will you learn from this episode?
- Why euro adoption does not mean easier market entry
- The real reason cash on delivery still dominates
- What foreign sellers misunderstand about Bulgarian consumers
- How logistics and parcel lockers are changing the game
- What actually builds trust and drives conversion
Before you enter the market
If you are considering Bulgaria or simply trying to better understand how markets in this region actually work, this conversation is a good place to start.
It gives context that is often missing when looking only at numbers or surface-level comparisons. Small details, like how trust is built or how delivery works, tend to have a bigger impact than expected.
We share the full recording with members of our community.