Consumer behavior

Online marketplace Wish appears to increasingly lock out user accounts in Germany after users returned items too many times. This also means customers lose access to the customer service and can no longer exercise their buyer rights.

Meeting consumer demands for more environmental goods and services are the biggest challenge for marketers and supply chain managers in the United Kingdom and France. Remanufacturing products costs nearly 3.5 million per year in these two countries.

Many top retailers in the United Kingdom and Germany have a long way to go when it comes to customer centricity. A lot of major ecommerce companies in these European countries don't meet the expectation of online shoppers, something which could damage loyalty and revenues.

Most online shoppers would order more in the long-run if an online retailer offers free returns. And a significant 84 percent of shoppers won't even come back to a store if they've encountered a poor returns experience.

Amazon is very popular in the United Kingdom. Recent research shows that almost nine in ten Brits are Amazon shoppers. And last year, more people have increased their shopping with Amazon than decreased it. Seven in ten Amazon users in the UK buy from the ecommerce giant at least once a month.

Consumers in the United Kingdom spent the most money online on vehicle-related items. Holidays were also a favorite destination for shoppers looking to spend their money online. And it's fashion and fast food takeaways that Britons regretted the most buying online in 2018.

In the United Kingdom, 53 percent of consumers prefer to shop online using a brand's app over its website. This is mostly because they experience complex processes for signing in and setting up accounts on the website. Still, 40 percent get frustrated when shopping or paying on a mobile.

The ecommerce website of DIY retailer Homebase has finished last in an annual online shops survey. Many customers in the United Kingdom weren't satisfied with their online shopping experience at Homebase.co.uk over the past six months.

Consumers the United Kingdom are increasingly turning to foreign retailers when they are shopping online. Currently, over a third of UK shoppers are buying cross-border regularly, with 15 percent making an online purchase overseas at least once a week.

The traditional brand website is losing importance among online shoppers in Europe. Only 11 percent of European e-shoppers say they go to a brand's website first when they are searching for a product. A significant share of online shoppers, 45 percent, turn to Amazon first.

Last year, 22 percent of Brits shopped online once a week, but that percentage has increased to 26 percent now. Also, 68 percent of the British population shop online at least once a month, while 3 percent do this every day.

Consumers in Europe spend about 5 percent of all their spending on subscriptions. They spend on average 130 euros per month for subscriptions, such as video, music, sport or food. Every year, 350 billion euros is spent in Europe on these type of purchases.

Consumers in Italy are more and more interested in shopping online. A recent study shows that two out of three Italians have visited an online store in January, while over half of Italians (53 percent) have purchased a product or service online during this period.

Over half of Polish internet users can be identified as e-consumers. Online shoppers in Poland are primarily people aged 50 years of younger, with a secondary or university degree and living in larger cities. Also, there are more women than men who shop online in Poland.

Among the ten economies in the world that are most ready to benefit from ecommerce, seven are European. For the third straight year, Luxembourg ranks first on UNCTAD's ranking of countries' capacity to support online shopping. Switzerland and Norway complete the top three.