As ecommerce become an increasingly mature business, more and more laws and regulations come in place. This is also because Europe desperately wants to have one, unified ecommerce market. The Directive on Consumer Right is one of these examples. As of 13 June 2014 it replaced certain directives and it’s focused more on protecting the online consumer than the European Union did before.
As of today, Austria has introduced a national levy of 2 euros per parcel for large online sellers. The measure applies to online stores and marketplaces generating more than 100 million euros in annual sales to customers in the country. Thousands of other businesses are affected indirectly. Resistance to the levy is therefore considerable.
Growth in online consumer spending in Europe is slowing down. For the current year, Ecommerce Europe and EuroCommerce expect growth of 5 percent in nominal terms. The growth engine in Eastern Europe is grinding to a halt.
Temu has broken into the top 10 online retailers in almost every European country. In four countries, the platform owned by China’s PDD Holdings even ranks first, according to ECDB, based on its 2025 data. Worth noting that none of these countries has a local Amazon storefront or a major domestic marketplace.
Product carousels have almost entirely disappeared from Google’s shopping-related search results in the European Economic Area (EEA). For online retailers, a large part of their visibility in organic Shopping results has abruptly vanished.
Chinese ecommerce platforms such as AliExpress, Banggood, Shein, and Temu are more popular than average in Southern Europe, according to research by the European Central Bank (ECB). Shoppers are attracted by low prices and a wide product range.
The Dutch Consumer Association has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Amazon and Duch online marketplace Bol. The association demands that the platforms immediately stop offering misleading discounts. These fake deals violate legal regulations.
In 2025, 60 percent of German retailers who participated in a study said that they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their online business. This indicates a significant decline compared to 2024. The share of satisfied or very satisfied sellers has fallen from 48 to 40 percent.
Customers of DHL Globalmail in the United Kingdom will soon no longer be able to send parcels to consumers in the European Union. The carrier is not yet operationally ready for the new customs rules that will take effect on July 1st.
More than one hundred thousand SMEs from the European Union use Amazon as a sales platform. Together, they generated 17 billion euros in cross-border sales last year, 2 billion euros more than a year earlier. Most international trade takes place within the EU.
Every day, Shein and Temu deliver 460,000 parcels to Germany. As both platforms violate several EU regulations, this results in unfair competition for retailers in the country. According to a recent study, this results in a yearly loss of 2.4 billion euros in added value to the German economy.
The consumer protection authority in France announced that three quarters of imported products from major online platforms failed to meet standards of the European Union. And 46 percent were non-complaint and dangerous. The regulator tested seven platforms, but did not name which ones.
Nine out of ten German online sellers say that bureaucratic procedures place a heavy or very heavy burden on them. Rules around product safety and packaging generate the most administrative hassle. Sellers are spending a lot of time and energy on complying with all laws and regulations.
The Council of the European Union has approved new customs rules for imported parcels valued at up to 150 euros. These shipments were previously exempt from customs duties, but that will change on July 1. From that date, a flat rate of 3 euros will apply to each item category contained in a small parcel entering the EU.
As cross-border ecommerce in Europe continues growing, many online sellers are interested in entering the German market. But expanding internationally requires preparation. Online sellers should consider the character of the German consumer, says Andreas Giese, CEO of Dexport.
Amazon significantly increased revenue in its two largest European markets last year. The company generated 45.9 billion dollars in Germany and 43.2 billion dollars in the United Kingdom, representing growth of 12.3 percent and 14.2 percent, respectively.