Consumer behavior

Most online shoppers in France expect their orders to be shipped for free, depending on the threshold. And one in three online shoppers even expect free shipping for all orders, regardless of the order value.

Europe has turned into a continent of online shoppers during the corona crisis. Since the beginning of the current contact restrictions, 57 percent of European consumers shop online more than ever. About one in three Europeans (30 percent) are spending more money on virtual experiences.

The online grocery market in the United Kingdom is predicted to increase by 33 percent this year. It's set to reach an estimated value of 19.2 billion euros, up from 14.5 billion euros last year. It would mean a significant development after four years of slowing growth.

More and more consumers in Europe are buying fresh food products online. Although many shoppers still tend to buy a lower volume online than they do-instore. The only exception seems to be the United Kingdom, where 42 percent buys more online than in-store and 32% percent buy less online.

The share of people in the European Union who shopped online has increased to 60 percent. The highest proportion of online shoppers can be found in Denmark, while Estonia achieved the biggest growth over the last ten years.

The outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) has a significant impact on ecommerce in Europe. Most national ecommerce associations think that it will lead to a decline in sales and a release of staff.

Online stores in Belgium have generated a total turnover of 8.2 billion euros in 2019. This is an increase of 17 percent compared to the situation one year before. One out of every four euros generated by Belgian online shops came from foreign shoppers.

Ecommerce in Sweden has showed double-digit growth last year. The online retail industry increased by 13 percent and was worth 87 billion Swedish kronor (8.24 billion euros) at the end of that year.

About three out of four Polish consumers see environmentally-unfriendly behavior of sellers when they are shopping online. Among this behavior is the use of film for packing shipments, packing food products in plastic bags and packing small products in too large packages with fillers.

More than half of online shoppers in Germany use customer reviews to help them make a buying decision. Young people in particular rely on the experiences that other buyers had with a certain product. Aside from customer reviews, price comparison websites and tips from friends and family are also often used.

Consumers in Germany will order products online with a total value of 70 billion euros this year. But every sixth parcel will be returned. In order to contain this process a bit, a legally required return fee could help, economic researchers say.

Just 69 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ireland have a website. And only 32 percent of these online companies sell products or services online. By not selling online, SMEs are losing their share of the Ireland's €12.3 billion ecommerce market.

Children are looking for shops that are ethically conscious. Almost one in five want to buy plastic-free products that are sustainable and most kids aren't that patient when it comes to the delivery of goods.

How often do customers in Europe purchase cosmetics online? And where do they but them? A new study shines light on this topic, showing how European women purchase cosmetics online.

Bazaarvoice, a company that offers solutions for product reviews and other user-generated content, has acquired Influenster. This is a product discovery and reviews platform with almost 6 million users worldwide.