Southern European ecommerce to grow to €39,5bln

It may not have been all moonlight and roses for Southern Europe with the financial crises countries like Spain, Italy and Greece had to face, but in terms of ecommerce this European region is doing well. It’s expected that the total online economy of sold goods and service in Southern Europe in 2013 amounted to 39,5 billion euros.

The ecommerce in Southern Europe shows an average annual growth rate of 23% since 2009 and this year it saw a growth rate of almost 18% compared to the €33,5bln market it was in 2012. This is revealed by a report from Ecommerce Europe, an European umbrella organization for online retailers.

According to this organization there were 40 million online shoppers in Southern Europe, which account for 31,25% of the 128 million active internet users these countries have. Ecommerce in Southern Europe makes up for 1,8% of total retail in this region, which consists of Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta. This rate is low, compared to other European regions or countries.

When we look at the countries individually, it’s clear that Spain is ecommerce country number one, with nearly 13 billion euros of ecommerce sales in 2012, while Turkey (number three with €5,4bln) is the fastest growing ecommerce market, showing a 90% growth rate over 2012 and an expected 40% growth for 2013. When we look at what individual shoppers do, it’s clearly that the average Southern European online shopper spends less than the average European shopper. The European average in 2012 was €1,402, while the average Southern European online shopper only spent €833. But the Greek are not average Southern European online shoppers, as the average online shopper from that country spent €1,347 in 2012. Second and third on the list are respectively Portugal (979 euro) and Cyprus (885 euro).

According to Wijnand Jongen, Chair Statistical Board at Ecommerce Europe, Southern Europe is full of opportunities for online retailers. “Spain is boasting the highest e-commerce turnover, but when we look at Greece, we see a pretty impressive annual online expenditure per capita in 2012, while Turkey’s growth rate in 2013 outperforms the European average by 100%. Now is the right moment to step in these markets and start growing e-commerce success.”

Read also our articles Western European ecommerce to grow to €174bln and Northern European ecommerce to grow to €31bln.