The number of European consumers buying online is continuing to increase rapidly. For retailers, it is necessary to be able to monitor new trends and behaviors that are quickly emerging. Against this backdrop, PostNord has since 2014 produced its annual E-commerce in Europe report.
The survey this report is based on was conducted with 11 000 respondents in twelve European countries, and we are pleased to present new insights into the development of European E-commerce and to describe the differences and similarities between the various geographical markets. As part of PostNord, Direct Link uses its expertise and the PostNord network to help businesses establish themselves in new markets.
In the past year, a total of 260 million consumers in the twelve markets surveyed bought physical goods online at a value of more than Euro 180 billion. Almost 70 %, or 186 million consumers, also made online purchases from abroad. The type of goods we buy online is changing somewhat as new categories become more popular on the Internet. Fashion, Home electronics and Books are still the most popular products, however, categories such as Health and Cosmetics products are gaining ground and show great potential for growth. The category with the largest variation among the different countries is Food shopping, and it will be highly interesting to watch developments going forward.
The report also reveals that more and more Europeans are shopping online from their mobiles. It is also clear that there are both major similarities and differences between the surveyed countries. This applies to everything from how consumers wants products delivered, how quickly, and to how they prefer to pay. For e-tailers, understanding and adapting their business to relevant local conditions is one of the keys to success.
Order the new “E-commerce in Europe” report for 12 European countries now.
Olof Källgren, Market Information Manager, Direct Link
Our monthly email provides a summary of the latest blog posts.
Enter your email address to subscribe and receive the next issue:
