Buying furniture online in France is popular

The online furniture industry in France is hot. Whereas the general ecommerce penetration in this country is still lower than in Germany or the UK, it is the opposite for online furniture. New data shows that 12 percent of sales in the furniture industry are made online, which is significantly more than the 6 or 7 percent achieved elsewhere in Europe.

The online furniture market was worth 1.1 billion euros in France last year. And 27 percent of consumers have bought furniture online during the last six months prior to the research from IPEA, the French institute in charge of forecasting and studies for the furniture industry. During the last five years, the market share of online furniture increased with 5 percent points.

Buying furniture online in France
In France, there are three major furniture players, which together own almost half of the furniture market in France. Ikea has the biggest market share, followed by Conforama and But. The Swedish retail company saw its market share stagnate in recent years, but is now putting a lot of effort in its online business. And that’s also where the most interesting things in the local furniture industry will happen. But online it’s not Ikea, but Conforama who leads the pack, as 7 percent of its business is conducted online.

‘Ecommerce accounts for 15% of the industry by 2020’
According to Christophe Gazel, general director of IPEA, ecommerce should account for 15 percent of the French furniture market by 2020. Jacquillat Emery, head of furniture retailer Camif, even thinks that in twenty-five years half of the furniture industry will be ecommerce.