Cross-border

Bol, the largest online sales platform in the Netherlands, is allowing sellers from outside the European Union to join for the first time. This year, the first 100 non-EU sellers are expected to join. The company emphasizes strict quality control for offerings from countries such as China. Products must be stocked within Europe.

German seller of furniture and home decorations Westwing has recently entered three new markets. It has launched in Croatia, Finland and Slovenia. The company is now present in 18 European countries.

German online beauty and perfume store flaconi has recently launched in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the Czech Republic. Next month, it will also launch in Italy. As a result of these launches, the company is now active in 12 countries in Europe.

Amazon is doing a lot of good for the European economy, says Mariangela Marseglia. According to the Vice President of EU Stores, there are over 127,000 European SMEs thriving on Amazon. “Thanks to a company like Amazon, their job is simplified because we allow them to export to foreign countries in a very easy way.”

The European online consumer electronics market was worth 112 billion euros in 2024. This was an increase of 24 percent compared to the year before. Consumer electronics now represent 13 percent of total online retail sales.

The three largest marketplaces in Austria account for 52 percent of the total online spending in the country. Amazon stands head and shoulders above the rest, with a 41 percent share of the total. Zalando and eBay follow, while Chinese platforms are gaining ground.

Pineca, a Lithuanian online supplier of prefabricated wooden buildings, has recently launched an online store in Poland. It is the company’s fifth new market in two-and-a-half years. It also marks the company’s entry into Eastern Europe, and the 10^th European market in which Pineca operates.

Austrian online retailers are facing increasing competition from international online stores, particularly those from Asia. One in three orders is now placed with platforms from that continent. The Chamber of Commerce is calling for concrete measures against platforms such as Shein and Temu.

Temu has now been active in Europe for two years. According to a recent survey by the Chinese marketplace, German customers said that they have average saving of 27 percent on purchases they placed on Temu in 2024. And 41 percent wonder why identical products cost more on other platforms.

Shopify merchants in Germany now have direct access to DHL shipping services through the ecommerce software platform. In addition to added convenience, online retailers also benefit from lower costs, according to DHL. The integration will become available in other key European markets as well.

The German Retail Association (HDE) is increasing its forecast for ecommerce for this year. It predicts a four percent increase. The German ecommerce market is expected to reach a total value of 92.4 billion euros in sales by the end of this year.

Payment provider MultiSafepay recently announced that its transaction volume increased 44 percent year-on-year. According to the company, this is due to customer business growth. In addition, the amount of customers grew 11 percent.

In 2024, the online European cross-border market reached 275.6 billion euros in sales. Compared to a year earlier, this was an increase of more than 16 percent. The cross-border market represented a 36 percent share of the overall online market in Europe.

Kaufland will open its marketplace to consumers in France and Italy by the end of the summer. “We are the alternative to global ecommerce giants, from Europe for Europe. With that goal in mind, we are now taking the next two steps - certainly not the last”, according to Gerald Schönbucher, CEO of Kaufland e-commerce.

In the third quarter of last year, the online turnover in Spain increased 12.6 percent year-on-year. It reached 24.6 billion euros. At least 65 percent of all online transactions that originated in Spain, went to cross-border online shops.