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.
In Central Europe Germany shows double-digit growth in B2C E-Commerce
In Germany, B2C E-Commerce sales reached several tens of billions of euros in 2012 and showed double digit growth over 2011. As a share of total retail sales, B2C E-Commerce accounted for several percentage points less than 10% in 2012, and the share is expected to increase by one percentage point in 2013. The most used payment methods for online shopping in Germany are invoice and PayPal, a contrast with many other European E-Commerce markets where bank cards are the most popular payment method. US based mass-merchant Amazon is the largest E-Commerce player, while the Germany based Otto Group continues expansion into domestic as well as international B2C E-Commerce. German online retailers benefit from popularity with shoppers in neighboring Austria.
Eastern Europe sees higher rate of growth in online sales
B2C E-Commerce in Russia grew by over a quarter in 2012, reaching a double digit figure in billions of euros. Further expansion in the online retail market is expected. Some product categories, such as household goods, cosmetics and auto parts have shown recent growth of over 50%. The clothing segment, including such players as Lamoda and Kupivip, has attracted large investments from overseas as well as domestic investors. The largest online retailer, mass merchant Ozon, increased its sales by a high double digit figure above 50%.
The growth of the Russian B2C E-Commerce market has attracted the attention of foreign players, with Asos launching a local website and Amazon opening a local office in the Spring of 2013. In the Czech Republic, B2C E-Commerce sales are increasing with the expectation of reaching several billions of Euros in 2013. Already over 40% of Internet users in the country shop online. In Slovenia, this share is even larger, as over 50% of Internet users are online shoppers.
B2C E-Commerce in Hungary and Poland has increased its share on the total retail market, reaching several percentage points. In Turkey, E-Commerce sales reached a double digit figure above 10 billion Euros in 2012, after a significant two digit percentage growth rate.
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