Report: ecommerce in Europe to hit EUR 602 bln mark in 2017

The ecommerce market in Europe is expected to be worth around EUR 602 billion in 2017, a 14% increase from 2016, when its total value was EUR 530 billion, surpassing the initial EUR 509.9 billion prediction.

The online retail market has experienced growth in all sectors, including digitalization, number of consumers and cross-border ecommerce. According to the European Ecommerce Report 2017, which was presented by Ecommerce Europe, the biggest boost comes from southern countries.

The report shows that more and more businesses own a website. If in 2010 about 67% of all retail companies had a website, the share has increased to 77% in 2016, however only 18% of these companies sell products and/or services through their website.

When it comes to consumers who shop online, Western Europe leads in figures, as 87% of consumers in the UK order goods online. Denmark and Germany come in next, with 84% and 82% of online shoppers respectively. On the other hand, countries such as Romania, Macedonia and Bulgaria have the lowest number of consumers who order goods and services via the internet.

Central and Eastern countries, however, are making gains when it comes to the ecommerce industry. Online sales have jumped by 38% in Romania, while the ecommerce markets in Slovakia and Estonia grew 3%. Ukraine saw a growth of 31%, and Poland and Bulgaria both grew 25% in 2016.

Cross-border ecommerce in Europe has also expanded, according to the report. In 2016, 33% of online shoppers bought goods from another country. Russia, Switzerland and Luxembourg have the highest numbers of consumers who engaged in cross-border ecommerce (each over 60%). Online shopping remains most popular among the younger generation, as two-thirds of 16-24 year olds shopped online frequently, compared to just one-third of the 55-74 year olds who made an online purchase.

There are still several hurdles that strain the growth for cross-border ecommerce in Europe. The report shows that the biggest complaints are about delivery times, technology failures and damaged or faulty goods.