The Forrester report estimates that the European online retail sales will reach EUR 233.9 billion by 2018, up from EUR 134.9 billion in 2013. This equates to a 12% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) up to 2018.
The report notes that clothing will continue to be the largest online sales category in Europe, whereas online groceries will be the fastest growing, surpassing consumer electronics to become the second largest category by 2018, Forrester said.
The UK, France and Germany will keep their highest proportion of total retail sales coming from online sales, out of the 17 countries included in the forecast. The predicted online sales growth across Europe is driven by a combination of the increasing number of consumers that buy online and retailers enabling improved ecommerce experiences.
UK online retail sales will reach EUR 71 billion by 2018, up from EUR 46 billion in 2013 and EUR 51 billion in 2014, which makes up 15% of total retail sales, (growing by a 9.1% CAGR from 2013 to 2018). By 2018, both France and Germany will register 10% of their total retail sales being made up from online sales.
By comparison, in a report published recently, Forrester forecast that total US online retail sales will reach USD 414 billion by 2018 – 11% of all retail sales.
Additionally, the percentage of European internet users who buy online will grow from 65% in 2013 to 75% in 2018. Southern European markets, such as Italy and Spain, will witness notable increase in online retail sales through to 2018, spurred by the growth in the number of online buyers and the emergence of super-shoppers in these markets - consumers who research and buy across multiple devices and digital touch points on a regular basis.
Check out our Cross-border Ecommerce Research section here for more info on specific ecommerce facts and figures, preferred payment methods, risk and fraud, as well as ecommerce legislation and regulation in the UK.
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