B2C e-commerce sales boom in Europe – yStats

One of the findings of the yStats researchers is that annual growth of E-Commerce sales in Eastern Europe outpaced Western Europe by 13 percentage points in 2012. A double digit growth rate above 10% in Western Europe and above 20% in Eastern Europe is expected for 2013, though this growth rate will decrease by 2017.

While the growth rate is higher in the Eastern region, sales are much higher in the more mature Western Europe online market: total E-Commerce sales in Europe amounted to nearly two hundred billion Euros in 2012 and are expected to reach over 300 billion by 2016, but the total for the Eastern region is expected to reach just over 50 billion euros that year.

Cross border shopping is a growing trend in the EU, reaching over 10% of online shoppers in 2012, a figure expected to double by 2015. Consumers becoming more comfortable with online shopping

The yStats.com report points out that nearly half of consumers in the EU 27 shopped online at least once in 2012. Among the countries with the highest online shopper penetration are the Scandinavian countries, UK, Germany, Netherlands and France, all above the EU average.

Bulgaria, Italy and Romania are among the countries with the lowest participation in online shopping. The most popular product categories in Europe by audience reach were consumer electronics and apparel. The Leading shopping websites were Amazon, Apple, and Otto Group’s sites. Price comparison websites are also popular.

Western Europe are considered mature B2C E-Commerce markets

B2C E-Commerce sales in the United Kingdom reached a significant double digit figure in billions of Euros in 2012, and further growth is expected. One on the main trends driving online shopping in the UK is mobile commerce: the share of mobile purchases on total B2C E-Commerce sales doubled in 2012. Major online sales players such as Amazon, Argos, Next, and Tesco have a significant share of traffic generated through the mobile channel.

In France, B2C E-Commerce sales approached half a hundred billion Euros, reflecting double digit growth in 2012. Amazon, Cdiscount, La Redoute and FNAC are among the leading online sellers in France, but the market is diverse, as large players account for over 2/3 of the market, but the top 10 for less than half.

In contrast to the general economic situation in Italy and Spain, E-Commerce has experienced healthy growth in those countries, reaching a double digit figure in billions of Euros. Moreover, Italy is expected to remain the fastest growing market in Western Europe. Cross-border B2C E-Commerce is popular in Spain; consumers there shop online from overseas websites and Spanish online shops sell abroad.