Horoshop analyzed purchases in Ukrainian online stores over the first six months of 2026. Data from 11,560 retail stores operating on the platform was used for the study. During this time, they received 9.4 million orders and sold almost 70 million products.
Lunch break — time for orders
Ukrainians shop online almost throughout the entire day — from morning until late in the evening. However, the most orders are placed neither after work nor right before bed, as one might assume. The peak occurs at 11:00 AM. Overall, from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, online stores receive 38% of all daily orders.
It seems that for many, online shopping has become as routine an activity as stopping by a neighborhood convenience store on the way home. There is no need to make a separate ritual out of it — the necessary item can be ordered between work tasks or during a lunch break.
In the evening, the number of purchases drops. At the same time, from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM, their volume remains almost unchanged. Looking at the days of the week, Ukrainians are most active in shopping on Mondays. After that, the number of orders gradually decreases, with weekends remaining the quietest days for online stores.
Self-care comes first
Stores in the “Beauty and Health” category received the most orders in the first half of the year — 1.3 million. Cosmetics, hygiene and personal care products, and health goods belong to purchases that are regularly repeated. A cream, shampoo, or other product runs out — and the shopper returns for the next one.
It is also telling how stable the demand is in this category. Demand fluctuations amounted to only 4.13% — the lowest figure among all the niches studied. In other categories, sales vary more heavily depending on the month, circumstances, and seasonality, whereas beauty and health products are bought at roughly the same rate throughout the entire half-year.
Daily needs are moving online
Next by the number of orders are “Home and Garden” and “Clothing and Accessories”. Both categories almost reached the 900,000 purchases mark in six months. This clearly shows what exactly Ukrainians are accustomed to ordering online. Mostly, these are completely everyday items: clothing, goods for home, renovations, summer houses, and household needs.
Next come groceries, electronics, pet supplies, transport and auto parts, equipment, and furniture. A long time ago, some of these categories were associated more with a trip to a physical store rather than placing an order on a website.
Median order value: how much Ukrainians actually spend online
Horoshop calculated two metrics: the average and the median order value. The difference between them turned out to be substantial. The average order value across all stores was 2,070 UAH. However, this figure is skewed by large and expensive orders. The median order value is significantly lower — 910 UAH. In other words, half of all purchases cost less than 910 UAH, and half cost more.
The difference between these metrics is clearly visible in individual categories. Goods for ceremonies and rituals have the highest average order value, but they no longer lead in terms of the median. With furniture, it is the opposite: its median order value is 2,099 UAH, making it the highest among all categories.
Kyiv and the Kyiv region are driving e-commerce forward
Kyiv and the Kyiv region accounted for 1.88 million orders — far more than any other region. In part, such a lead is natural given the population of the capital and the region. The Dnipropetrovsk region took second place with 499,000 orders. Following them in the top five are the Odesa, Lviv, and Kharkiv regions.
However, it cannot be said that e-commerce exists solely due to the capital region. Different regions have their own unique preferences, and it is online stores that meet the demand for them.
Regional preferences: where and on what they spend the most
Horoshop specialists separately analyzed the ten largest categories by total order value and compared their average order value across different regions.
- The Rivne region has become a region of true hedonists: it has the highest average order value in two categories at once — “Beauty and Health” and “Groceries”.
- The Donetsk region stands out for clothing expenditures. This is where the highest average order value in the “Clothing and Accessories” category was recorded. It is likely that this figure is partially influenced by purchases of expensive military clothing.
- The Poltava region bypassed all other regions in the average order value for electronics — even Kyiv and its region.
- The Vinnytsia region leads in two “home” areas at once: home and garden goods, and pet supplies.
- The Kyiv region has the highest average order value in the “Equipment and Technical Products” category. For a region with a high concentration of business, services, and professional demand, this is a completely expected result.
- Zakarpattia spends the most in the “Arts and Entertainment” category.
- Meanwhile, the Chernivtsi region seems to be gradually preparing for its own Formula 1 stage: this is exactly where the highest average order value for transport and auto parts is found.
What the first half of 2026 revealed
Online shopping for Ukrainians is routine. Goods are ordered in the middle of the workday, people regularly return for cosmetics or household items, and they buy online even those things they previously traveled to a physical store for more often.
At the same time, the median order value of 910 UAH demonstrates the nature of such purchases. The foundation of online commerce is not made up of large, one-time expenditures, but of ordinary orders for items needed right here and now.
