Cross-border

Austria and China have signed an agreement, which should give Austrian retailers have easier access to the Chinese ecommerce market. Margarete Schramböck, Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs, is currently on a state visit to Beijing, where she negotiated a deal with the Ministry of Commerce of the Government of China.

C&A, a leading fashion retailer in Europe, it boosting its focus on the ecommerce business. The company has launched a new EU shop, which has led to the fact this retailer now also delivers to customers in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.

Online optician Mister Spex continues to expand its multichannel approach across Europe and now offers its partner optician program also in Sweden. The Scandinavian country is the fifth market in Europe where customers have access to services as free eye tests and eyewear adjustments through partnering opticians.

Picnic, a Dutch supermarket that only operates online, will expands it business to Germany. The company launched a pilot project in the Dusseldorf region several months ago and it with great success. Now, Picnic has decided that starting next month, it will deliver groceries to all consumers in this pilot area.

Almost three in four online shoppers in Europe have made a purchase from a retailer within Europe. And over half of European shoppers ordered something from an online retailer that's located outside the continent. Cross-border shoppers purchase at foreign stores, mostly because of better prices and because they are searching for a specific brand or product that isn't available in their home country.

Around 14 percent of all online shoppers in Europe purchase fresh food and beverages online. And over half of European e-shoppers shopped online at foreign websites this year. This is shown in the latest E-shopper Barometer report from DPDgroup.

The majority of consumers in Ireland also turn to the United Kingdom for online shopping. The fact that the ecommerce industry in the UK offers more choice, is the main advantage to shopping from the UK, nearly half of those who shop with UK retailers say.

Switzerland is a very interesting market for online retailers looking to expand their ecommerce business. It's an wealthy and online savvy market, while Swiss consumers love to buy from international online stores. But there are many things you should know when you want to export to Switzerland.

Fashion retailer Bonprix has opened an online store in Norway, which marks the 30^th market where this German fashion brand has a presence. Within the Otto Group, Bonprix is ​​now the most international brand and is also one of the Group's largest companies.

This month, Swedish fashion retailer Chiquelle won the Global E-commerce Award at this year's Global E-commerce Summit. The company's pitch won 52 percent of the audience vote, thereby beating Indian online grocery store Big Basket and Swedish furniture manufacturer Ikea. We interviewed CEO and co-founder Pouya Boland about the award and the latest developments, including expanding to more countries.

The European Commission wants to set up a website to display the cross-border delivery rates offered by logistics companies. With this new initiative, the EU wants to make cross-border parcel delivery services more transparent and better monitored.

The Nordic menswear and golf brand Oscar Jacobson is investing more in omnichannel retail as it is expanding its business in Europe. The company currently sells its menswear fashion items online in the United Kingdom and Sweden, but it will soon sell both online and through stores in Norway.

Foreign ecommerce websites are popular among online consumers in Sweden. But online shoppers also rely on local companies, such as IKEA, Netonnet and Elgiganten. The most popular online store in Sweden however, is a foreign ecommerce website.

Shop Apotheke Europe, a major online over-the-counter pharmacy, saw its revenues increase to 64.3 million euros during the first quarter of this year. This corresponds with an increase of 57 percent compared to the same period last year. According to the company, the further growth is the result of its consistent acceleration of its international expansion.

Dutch online payment processor Mollie is gearing up for expansion throughout Europe in order to become the first tech-driven European payment service provider. After achieving success in its home country the Netherlands and neighboring country Belgium, Mollie has now established new teams in France and Germany.