In 2020, 23% of enterprises in Cyprus increased efforts to sell goods or services over the internet due to the effects of the pandemic, compared with 12% of businesses in the EU, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the European Union. The data shows how EU enterprises dealt with the effects of measures taken to limit the spread of COVID-19 in 2020. Among member states for which data was available, the highest share of enterprises that started or increased efforts to sell their products online due to the pandemic was recorded in Malta (32%), followed by Cyprus (23%) and Portugal (21%). The lowest percentages of enterprises increasing their efforts to use the internet were registered in Germany (5%), Poland (6%) and Slovenia (7%). There are no available data from Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, France, Croatia and Romania.

The collection of this particular data was voluntary for the member states. Eurostat notes in its press release that the share of businesses that moved to the internet as a new channel of sales or increased their efforts to sell online in 2020 due to the pandemic, depended on the initial share of enterprises already having e-sales, but also to a large extent on the type of economic activity of the enterprise.

The highest share of enterprises that started or increased their online sales was registered in accommodation-related activities (25%), while the lowest share was recorded for enterprises active in construction (3%). The data was collected during surveys on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and e-commerce in enterprises. Out of the 27 member states, 19 opted to include questions on this issue in their surveys.