Germany joins Ecommerce Europe

Ecommerce Europe has welcomed its 16th member. The German retailer association Händlerbund has joined the European umbrella organisation for online retailers. Very good news for Ecommerce Europe, as Händlerbund is one of Europe’s largest online trade associations, representing more than 30,000 online entities, of which half sell products and/or services online to consumers.

“We are extremely happy with the Händlerbund joining us”, says François Momboisse, President of the Board of Directors of Ecommerce Europe. “The new German association represents an important part of the online B2C companies in Germany. With this membership, Ecommerce Europe has gained the support of 16 countries and over 25,000 e-companies in two years’ time. By representing this many companies and countries, our voice in Europe will be stronger than ever.”

Improve the ecommerce image
Händlerbund wants to consolidate and improve the ecommerce image throughout Europe, better the business environment for ecommerce as well as eliminate barriers to cross-border ecommerce in Europe. It tries to achieve these goals by strengthen the consumer protection, establishing a seal of quality and providing their members with legal advice.

The Händlerbund was founded in October 2008 and currently represents 30,000 online entities. About two percent of these companies are active in the B2B industry, while 47% are B2C companies. The larger part, 52%, is active in both industries.

Germany is one of Europe’s biggest ecommerce markets, with a turnover of 63.4 billion euros last year. This growth is expected to continue this year, by 20.6% to 76,4 billion euros.