Online store

ICA Gruppen, one of the leading retail companies in Scandinavia, is testing its own ecommerce platform. The company has several online stores running in Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, but they all run on different ecommerce platforms. The newly designed platform is now being tested in four ICA branded stores.

When German online shoppers judge an online store, they think punctuality, speed and a good price-performance ratio are particularly important. A good home page should also include information about offers or discounts, shipping costs and all the possible payment options, German online consumers think.

French online pharmacist Doctipharma has opened its service platform where it sells non-prescription drugs, after it obtained the approval of health authorities. Doctipharma.fr allows patients to securely access these products in strict compliance with the recommendations of health authorities and benefit from the advice of pharmacists gathered on this platform.

It’s still two months, but 2015 is near. And this may be a year of other trends than we saw in 2014. Three CEOs of leading ecommerce companies in Europe told us their predictions of what might happen in online shopping next year. They believe the next trends will have the strongest impact on the online retail industry.

Of all online stores in the Netherlands that started in 2012, almost half of them doesn’t exist anymore. There were 7591 online stores founded two years ago, but today only 56 percent of them is still active. It also seems that one in four ecommerce sites that started last year won’t be there anymore if the last quarter of 2014 is reached.

Otto is experimenting with interactive video clips on YouTube. Viewers can purchase the products that are presented during the pre-roll video advertisements with one simple mouse click. They will be directed to the relevant product page on Otto's French subsidiary 3Suisses.

The American toy retailer Toys"R"Us has announced the launch of an ecommerce site in Poland, adding to its growing portfolio of online stores all over the world. Toys"R"Us already has eight physical stores and the web store will extends the brand’s reach to more Polish consumers.

The German perfume retailer Douglas will add erotic items to its product range in the near future. With various scented waters, cleansing elixirs, nourishing creams and a high quality makeup line the company is an import place for shoppers looking for beauty products. And soon these shoppers can also shop at Douglas for vibrators and other adult toys.

Fab.com announced today it has officially launched Hem, an online retailer selling Scandinavian-style furniture. The European design company goes live in 40 markets. It ships to 30 countries, including the US, and a further ten countries will have Hem's furniture thanks to resale partnerships with physical stores.

Every country has its own habits, rules and traditions. In Italy this is no different. When you have an ecommerce company in this Southern European country or when you want to start one, there are some things you should know. About Italian consumers, their habits, their preferred payment methods and their ideal delivery solutions. We have these tips!

Amazon is getting very serious about entering the Dutch market with its online store. More and more publishers state the American ecommerce giant has contacted them to negotiate about selling e-books. But it won't be easy for Jeff Bezos's brainchild as Dutch publishers aren't so eager to join forces with Amazon.

Wrangler has some big plans for this fall: it will launch an online store in ten European countries as well as launch a campaign with Finnish racing driver Kimi Raikkönen to boost sales. At the end of this year, Wrangler's online has to available in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Poland, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Ireland. France and Belgium will follow later.

eMAG, the largest online retailer in Romania, and local supermarket chain Mega Image have joined forces by launching an online supermarket. Romanian customers can order food, home care and personal care products that are also available in the traditional supermarkets from Mega Image.

Swedish fashion retailer H&M has opened the doors of its online store in Spain, although it's somewhat later than expected. First, plans were to launch the H&M online store in June, but eventually it had to be delayed until August. Another interesting thing is orders can be placed by all Spaniards, except those who live on the Canary Islands.

Pop-up stores are very popular in the United Kingdom, as about 23,400 people  work in nearly 10,000 pop-up shops across the country. Together, this group of retailers contribute 2,6 billion euros to the British economy each year, which is equivalent to 0,6% of total UK retail turnover. And the industry could grow even faster, if there weren’t that much barriers.