Statistics are boring? Hell no! They can be very interesting, if you are interested in the ecommerce industry that is. Check out this category to see some stunning numbers and data about the ecommerce industry in different European countries or about a certain company.
Last year, B2C ecommerce in Europe generated a nominal turnover of 887 billion euros. This was a slight increase of 3 percent compared to a year earlier, when the turnover reached 864 billion euros. However, there are large regional differences.
In the financial year 2023/2024, the whole European online cross-border market achieved sales of 326 billion euros. A large majority, 69 percent, or 225 billion euros came from online marketplaces.
Spending at major British online retailers was 3.2 percent higher in September than in the same month last year. This marks the first growth since April 2021. After nearly 3.5 years, a turning point has been reached, just as in other European countries.
In Germany, small and medium-sized online stores often run on Shopify’s ecommerce software. The company has a market share of almost 40 percent in the country. German software providers Shopware and JTL complete the top three.
Unlike most European countries, local players generate the most online revenue in the Netherlands. The top 3 in online spending for 2023 is led by online department store bol. Supermarket chain Albert Heijn, a sister company of bol, takes second place, and electronics retailer Coolblue is in third. Amazon rises in the new ranking and claims fourth place.
The days of declining online sales in Germany appear to be over. Last year the net sales of the top thousand webshops fell by 0.2 percent, not adjusted for inflation, compared to a 2.8 percent decline in 2022. A nominal growth is expected for this year.
In the first half of 2024, Dutch consumers spent €17.5 billion on online retail, a 6% increase compared to the same period in 2023, although the number of products purchased declined. The growth mainly stems from services, such as health and damage insurance.
More than seven out of ten Belgian consumers never (or almost never) return items that they have ordered online. This is because they only order items that they want to keep. Belgians are ordering online more often, with 40 percent of all purchases happening online.
Mytheresa, the luxury ecommerce platform rooted in Germany, saw its revenue increase by 9.8 percent in the past fiscal year. Sales especially surged in the second half of the fiscal year, and profitability also improved over the course of the year.
The European online fashion, beauty and luxury market generated a turnover of 213 billion euros in 2023. The cross-border share of that market was 38 percent, representing 82 billion euros. The market is expected to grow.
The majority of Dutch online stores that sell products through dropshipping do not comply with legal regulations for online selling. Their websites lack contact details or information about returning orders, for example.
Online revenue in the Netherlands is expected to increase 8 percent this year, compared to 2023. Meanwhile, the total retail revenue will increase only 2 percent. This is due to an expected decline in supermarket sales, because of a ban on selling tobacco in those stores.
The environmental impact of retail, particularly the online sales of clothing, seems to be consistently underestimated. Between 22 to 44 percent of all returned clothing is never sold to a secondary consumer. These unused returned items have a big impact on the environment.
Next reflects on a successful half year. The British retailer has revised its profit expectations upwards. While pure players Asos and Boohoo, also from the United Kingdom, struggle to maintain their online sales, Next continues to grow digitally, especially abroad.
Of the 47 biggest online stores in Switzerland, only 17 percent offer free shipping this year. A majority of 64 percent offers free shipping above a threshold value. Another 19 percent always charges for delivering goods. These data are approximately the same as those in 2023.