Europe

Global parcel volume reached 87 billion last year, with 9.3 billion parcel shipments being generated by European countries. The United Kingdom and Germany are the countries with the biggest parcel volume, in both markets 3.5 billion parcels were shipped last year.

Autumn is here and the weather is slowly getting less enjoyable for some. Maybe that means it's a great time to get cozy and visit some interesting ecommerce events? As always, we've made a handy overview for you, so you know when and where an ecommerce event takes place this month in Europe.

Danish ecommerce company Goodiebox is expanding in Europe. The beauty tech startup launched in Austria last week and just went live with pre-launch websites in Finland and Switzerland. Goodiebox will go live in these countries approximately a month from now, while the German website will be launched later this year.

Ecommerce Europe and EMOTA, the two biggest European ecommerce associations, will join forces. The merger will become fully effective as of 1 January next year, with the two associations continuing under the name 'Ecommerce Europe'.

The total cross-border market of European-owned marketplaces represents a turnover of 9 billion euros. This corresponds to a fifth of what's generated by all cross-border marketplaces in Europe, with Amazon generating 28 billion euros. Here's the top 20.

Bazaarvoice, a company that offers solutions for product reviews and other user-generated content, has acquired Influenster. This is a product discovery and reviews platform with almost 6 million users worldwide.

Online optician Mister Spex has raised over 65 million euros in an equity round led by the Büll Family Office. With the fresh funding, the German company wants to accelerate its international growth and expand its retail network.

Ever since the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, came into force 14 months ago, ecommerce websites in Europe have recorded lower page views, site visits and revenue.

Payconiq, a mobile payment app supported by several Benelux banks, wants to expand further in Europe. To achieve this goal, it just raised 20 million euros in a funding round led by its existing shareholders.

Etsy, the global marketplace for handmade and vintage items, has acquired Reverb. This is a six-year old company that enables people to buy and sell new, used, and vintage music gear. The deal is for about 246 million euros in cash.

It's a well-known 'statistic' that 90 percent of startups fail within the first 120 days. But what could be the reason for an ecommerce company that just started to be unsuccessful so soon? Let's have a look at the top 10 reasons why ecommerce startups fail.

Most growth of a European country's ecommerce market can be expected in the Czech Republic, where it's predicted the online retail industry will grow 16 percent between now and 2021. That's more than in other European markets.

The European Court of Justice has decided today that online retailers don't need to provide a phone number, as long as customers are offered other ways to contact the ecommerce company.

Ziticity, a startup from Lithuania, wants to deliver packages in Europe from pick-up points to customers within one hour. The logistics company just raised a €315,000 seed round led by Estonia-based early stage fund Superangel, with participation from Practica Capital, Startup Wise Guys, and angel investor Mikko Silventola.

Allbirds has launched its online store in Europe. Consumers from twelve different countries across Europe can now orders sustainable shoes from the American brand through the dedicated ecommerce website.