Statistics

Last year, Germany, the UK, France and Italy generated 60 percent of the total European ecommerce revenue. The UK is currently the leader in ecommerce in Europe, even after Brexit. However, Germany is expected to take over that place by 2025.

Retailers within the UK have terminated contracts worth 8.3 billion euros with suppliers that didn't meet ethical and sustainable standards in 2021. The demand for ethical and sustainable products from customers has led to a shift in how retailers shape their supply chain.

Dutch ecommerce businesses were able to increase their turnover with 23.6 percent when compared to 2020. While this turnover growth is higher than what physical stores achieved, it's evident that the strong ecommerce growth in the country is slowing down. In comparison: in 2020 the online turnover growth was almost 44 percent.

German ecommerce has gone through a strong growth in 2021. Gross sales of ecommerce products amounted to 99.1 billion euros, which is a growth of 19 percent compared to 2020. Almost every seventh euro available to German consumers for household expenses was spent on products online.

Of all sellers on the Dutch version of Amazon, only 2 percent is from the Netherlands. Most of these sellers handle their own logistics. Most Dutch sellers offer home items and clothing, which are the most popular products among Dutch online shoppers.

Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn has grown its market share to 35.9 percent in 2021. Its online channel, where customers order groceries, has helped achieve this growth. Up to 10 percent of the company's revenue come from this channel.

Ever since the outbreak of the coronavirus, ecommerce has grown significantly. An indicator of that growth is the number of online stores on platforms like Shopify. Between March 2020 and January 2022, the number of stores on Shopify grew with 201.53 percent.

The Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden were very early adopters of the internet and have a highly developed digital infrastructure. Online shopping is very common in the Nordics, yet research reveals that there is still growth potential in this region.

Flash delivery startups have seen their turnover grow in the Netherlands. Research estimates that by the end of 2021, Dutch consumers were spending around 40 million euros per month on flash deliveries. This growth is expected to continue throughout this year, meaning that a total turnover of 1 billion euros can be achieved in 2022.

Online payment method PayPal is well-known within Europe, but the usage of PayPal in online stores varies between countries. In Italy, 93 percent of online stores offer PayPal as a payment method. On the other end of the spectrum, PayPal is only offered in 1 percent of Serbian online stores.

The top 10 of Austria's 250 biggest online stores had a successful year in 2020. Together, the top 10 made up almost half of the top 250's total online sales. Though there are new online retailers in the top 10, Amazon.de remains undefeated.

A large majority of small and medium-sized ecommerce businesses have seen their sales numbers rise in 2021. Up to 1 in 5 companies had a sales growth of at least 40 percent. However, these companies also faced several challenges.

With the strong growth in ecommerce across Europe, also comes a strong growth in marketplaces. European online marketplaces are estimated to value around 120 to 150 billion euros. But the markets for online marketplaces differ per country.

'Buy now, pay later' (BNPL) is becoming increasingly popular. One in five UK consumers are planning to use these services during Christmas, to spread out the costs. But the increasing popularity has also caused an increase in outstanding debt amongst UK shoppers.

The strongest ecommerce markets in Europe have remained on the top. However, consumers in Denmark have spent the most online in the past year. These findings are published in the newest report by Direct Link.