With the turn of the month, the Christmas season began at Omniva. But this year it can already be seen that more people are buying goods from China.

"The biggest growth to date has probably been from third countries. I think there are a lot of us in Estonia who have Temu as one of our main pen pals, so that is where a lot of the growth is coming from. We are also seeing growth from European shops. The [share from] local Estonian retailers, is smaller but still growing," said Kristi Unt, head of Omniva's logistics and courier network.

The total number of packages has grown 10 percent on year, and of that, 90 percent are sent from third countries. But the average price has fallen.

"The average basket of goods has actually fallen by about 20 percent compared to last year, which still means that people have less money and are watching what they buy and waiting for discounts," said Tõnu Väät, CEO of the Estonian E-Commerce Association.

Unt said: "Obviously people are more cautious, more price-sensitive and it is difficult for a trader from a third country to compete on price today in Estonia."

Rahva Raamat bookstores have not introduced their Christmas offers yet. The company is also seeing a downward trend.

"Unfortunately, in the fourth quarter we are seeing a bit of a decline compared to last year, but we have not lost optimism. You can see that people are a little bit on the sidelines, maybe waiting for the shopping holidays in November. I think the economic uncertainty has certainly affected book buying as well. This is not a bread-and-butter product," marketing manager Annika Altmäe told "Aktuaalne kaamera."

As Estonian language books cannot be purchased on Chinese websites, their sales are unaffected. But the same cannot be said for trinkets.

"We certainly do not try to compete with them, because we still have a bit more quality, more choice. It certainly has an impact on sales, but we do not see ourselves as competing in any way with Chinese stores in that area," Altmäe said.

In Estonia, the busiest day of the year is always December 23. Goods cannot be ordered online this close to Christmas. The last day for website purchases is December 21.

"When ordering from China and further afield, it's already quite late, because you have to take into account that it is Christmas time for them as well, and all the packing and shipping will take a lot longer for them as well," Unt said.

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