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Leaders from FAN Courier, Heureka Group & Nova Broadcasting Group Join Balkan eCommerce Summit 2026, Joined by Dozens More Top eCommerce Speakers

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For full event details and tickets visit: balkanecommerce.com

Exploring AI-driven growth, marketing innovation, cross-border expansion, delivery optimization, marketplace strategy, and the future of eCommerce in Central & Eastern Europe

Balkan eCommerce Summit 2026 continues to expand its international program with the announcement of ten additional speakers, bringing expertise across AI adoption, marketing automation, affiliate partnerships, courier and fulfilment strategy, consumer and delivery research, media monetisation, and marketplace-led growth across Central and Eastern Europe.

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MerchantPro: Romania’s eCommerce market is set to reach €8.5 billion in 2026, under pressure from non-EU platforms, AI, and more cautious consumer behavior

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The expansion of global platforms is accelerating: in 2025, 1 in 4 Europeans shopped on Temu, while the platform reached 4.7 million monthly active users in Romania.

Romania’s eCommerce market reached approximately €8.1 billion in 2025 and could exceed €8.5 billion in 2026. However, growth is entering a more competitive and less predictable phase than in previous years. According to the MerchantPro eCommerce Insights 2026 report, inflation, pressure from international marketplaces, shifts in consumer behavior, and the growing impact of AI on product discovery and conversions are reshaping the rules of competition in the local online commerce sector.

MerchantPro’s analysis shows that the estimated market growth rate was around 6% in 2025, in a context where transaction volumes stagnated. For 2026, a 5% increase is expected, driven by more cautious consumption, declining consumer confidence, and structural transformations within the digital ecosystem.

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Europe’s food security under pressure from fraud and cyber-attacks: four EU projects seek solutions

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Nicosia, March 11, 2026. Four European research and innovation projects are joining forces to tackle emerging risks threatening food security in Europe. In this context, an international webinar will be held on March 31, 2026, to analyze the challenges posed by food fraud, cyber threats, and chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) incidents across the food supply chain.

The online event, held on the Zoom platform from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. CET, will bring together experts, researchers, and representatives of European projects to discuss how these threats can affect food availability, safety, and integrity, as well as the resilience of European food systems.

Food security is becoming an increasingly complex challenge due to the interconnected risks affecting supply chains. From food fraud and governance vulnerabilities to cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and CBR incidents, these threats require integrated responses and cooperation at the European level.

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HomeRun: Metal Structure Homes Demand Jump nearly 10 times in Romania

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  • Nearly 10 times increase for metal house structures in the last 12 months
  • Metal house structures cost almost half of the turnkey ones

Bucharest, March 10 2026 —Demand for alternative house construction methods in Romania is rising rapidly as homeowners increasingly prioritize affordability, faster build times, and practical designs. According to new data from the home services HomeRun, one of Romania’s leading online platforms for local services that connects consumers with trusted professionals, which analyzed requests for construction services submitted on the platform over the last 12 months (March 2025 – February 2026) and compared them with the previous 12-month period. The preferences of the platform users sees a clear shift away from traditional turnkey homes toward metal structure and wooden houses.

Overall demand for construction services across these categories increased by approximately 18% highlighting sustained interest in residential construction despite ongoing cost pressures in the sector.

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Automated automations

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High-Angle Photo of Robot · Free Stock Photo

I see people being happy automations.

Sometimes, they work very poorly.

You want to allow calendar meeting set-up, but you don’t check new appointments, and you go into a meeting, and you’re alone.

You want to automate sending bills to customers, but due to misconfigurations, you send the same bill multiple times.

Also with bills – you send one month after issuing a bill an email on it.

Sometimes, you wish to automate sending documents and create a platform for this, but a Google Drive would be a much better sand simpler solution.

You want to secure the chats, but for this purpose you force your clients to use a platform that requires login in two steps each time you want to send or read a message.

Automations are fine, but you need to check things multiple times, to make sure they work properly.

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Cotor, Libris’ AI bookseller, is Romania’s first intelligent virtual bookseller and a filter in the multitude of book recommendations

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The chatbot that turns book searching into a natural conversation has already handled more than 50,000 interactions with readers.

In the first weeks after launch, Cotor, Libris’ AI bookseller, generated more than 50,000 messages, with an average of 7 questions per session, demonstrating strong reader interest and confirming that Romanian readers were ready for a more intuitive way to discover books.

The launch comes at a time when the use of AI chatbots in online shopping is rapidly growing worldwide. According to specialized studies* in the e-commerce industry, shoppers who interact with AI chatbots convert at a rate of 12.3%, compared with 3.1% for those who do not use such assistance nearly four times higher. Moreover, consumers who receive AI assistance complete their purchases 47% faster.

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On ChatGPT

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readerwalker - Tough primitive little writing machine

Some pieces of news:

I have cancelled my OpenAI subscription. Currently, using Gemini PRO.

We’ll see how it goes. Perhaps it’s not the end. I’ll likely still use it, just not in the premium subscription.

“How do you know if someone is vegan? Don’t worry – they’ll tell you.” (via The Guardian)

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On Adolescence (TV Mini Series 2025) – a very powerful movie

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Adolescence (TV Mini Series 2025) – I think it is the best TV Series I’ve seen.

I enjoyed the very big, hugely, enormous cuts.

I liked most of the way the main characters played their roles.

I especially like that it’s a short TV series.

Highly recommended.

As an interesting note, most characters didn’t play in all four episodes. Quite nice.

10/10.

Reviews (Romanian):

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