Economy & Business, Volume 16, 2022

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provide a general overview of the use of e-commerce in Albania. The article emphasizes the conditions of e-commerce implementation by SME-s, the problems that are faced with the e-commerce solution that has been available in the Albanian market by the IT companies, the lack of integration of e-commerce with other services like online payments used in Albania, shipping of articles with an acceptable cost by companies that operate in the local market and the quality of service that has been introduced to the market. Pre-covid usage of e-commerce in Albania has been moderate. Before covid-19, the businesses that have implemented an e-commerce solution were the ones founded by the young generation. During the pandemic, e-commerce took a significant development. The demand to have e-commerce increased significantly in the market. SMEs saw the implementation of an e- commerce solution as a channel that would help them survive during the pandemic. In this paper, we are proposing a solution that resolved the problems faced with the e-commerce service in Albania. The most suitable solution that was seen in the provision of e-commerce service is through the Albanian Post. The Albania Post is specialized in banking, financial, and transport services. Institutions like State Posts that offer the above mention services are the institutions that could truly support SME-s by offering the e-commerce solution based on the software as a service architecture, integrated with all the above services. The SME-s receive a complete e-commerce solution with integrated services for shipping and payments with low costs, and the Albanian Post gains fees from the transactions that are generated by the e-commerce platform.