The Counties Most Hungry to Start an Ecommerce Business
Ireland’s ecommerce market is already worth an estimated €5 billion and is forecast to keep climbing, and it’s not hard to see why so many people want a slice of the pie.
To find out, our team dug into Google search data from 2023 to 2025, tracking how often people in each county searched for terms like “starting an ecommerce business” and “ecommerce business ideas”, adjusting the results per 100,000 people to ensure a fair comparison across counties of all sizes.
That intent data was then cross-referenced with ComReg’s county-level fibre broadband (FTTP) coverage and take-up figures because having the infrastructure to actually run an online business matter just as much as the desire to start one. Having the connectivity to run one successfully is the other half.
The results reveal that the digital hustle is well and truly alive in Ireland, not just in the big counties, but in the smaller ones too.
Kildare
Kildare takes the top spot, and it is not hard to see why. People here searched for ecommerce topics 429 times per 100,000 people, and the broadband infrastructure to match that ambition is firmly in place. 77.7% fibre coverage, a 55.1% take-up rate and average speeds of 169 Mbps. The county is already proving its ecommerce credentials, with grocery delivery platform Buymie operating across Naas, Kilcock and Newbridge. Kildare looks like the county where Ireland’s next wave of ecommerce entrepreneurs will come from.
Westmeath
Westmeath ranks second with a final score of 327.8, recording 488 ecommerce searches per 100,000 people. Much of that ambition is centred on Athlone, which is in the middle of a significant digital transformation. TUS Athlone received a €12.1m government investment in 2025, and a new €10m Digital Hub is currently under construction in the town centre in partnership with Westmeath County Council. The results are already showing up in the businesses coming out of the county. Athlone’s TAPiTAG, which makes NFC-powered digital business tools and ships to customers worldwide, took the top prize at the 2025 Westmeath Enterprise Awards.
Laois
Laois may not be the biggest county in Ireland, but it leads the country on two of the most important measures in the index. No county has higher fibre broadband coverage at 84.7%, and no county comes close to its average broadband speed of nearly 250 Mbps. Add in 360 ecommerce searches per 100,000 people and a solid 53.7% take-up rate, and Laois makes a very convincing case for itself. With a final score of 326.5, this is a county that is quietly ready to do serious business online.
Wexford
Wexford takes fourth place with a score of 314.2 and earns every point. Nearly 80% of premises have fibre broadband; more than half of residents are actively using it, and 387 people per 100,000 are already searching for ways to start selling online. Scurri, one of Ireland’s best known ecommerce delivery technology companies, is based here, and so is All Ireland Foods, which has built an online platform connecting Irish food producers with customers across the country. The southeast is not waiting around.
Louth
Louth closes out the top five with a score of 308.6 and does so with real conviction. It recorded 501 ecommerce searches per 100,000 people, the highest intent figure of any county in the top five, and backs that up with 84.4% fibre coverage and a 55.5% take-up rate. Louth is also home to Unglu-d, a gluten-free food brand that has built a loyal nationwide customer base entirely online. With Drogheda booming and the M1 on its doorstep, this is a county that has everything it needs to deliver.
Who earned a spot in the top 10?
Meath, Wicklow, Galway, Kilkenny and Carlow round out the top ten, each making a strong case for their place. Meath ranks sixth with the highest broadband take-up rate of any county in the entire index at 59.6%, suggesting that when it comes to getting connected, its residents mean business. Wicklow follows in seventh, sitting on Dublin’s doorstep with 416 ecommerce searches per 100,000 people and strong transport links that make it well placed to turn intent into action.
Galway comes in eighth, and as Ireland’s fastest growing city region it has the population, the talent and the 78.4% fibre coverage to become one of the country’s most important ecommerce counties. Kilkenny takes ninth with 80% fibre broadband coverage. Carlow, however, is the county that will raise the most eyebrows. Despite being one of Ireland’s smallest counties by population, it recorded 1,065 ecommerce searches per 100,000 people, the highest search rate of any county in the country.
Methodology
Exertis Supply Chain Services analysed Google search data from 2023 to 2025, tracking interest in ecommerce-related search terms across all 26 counties and adjusting the results per 100,000 people using CSO Census population figures. ComReg fibre broadband coverage, take-up rates and average broadband speeds were then layered in, using figures averaged across the same period, to measure the digital infrastructure available in each county. Each of the four metrics was scored and combined to give every county a final index score out of 400.
