Europe

Online electrical retailer AO saw its revenue increase by 22.9 percent to 378 million euros during the period April to September this year. Ecommerce sales in the UK grew 20.8 percent, while revenue in Europe increased by 66.9 percent during that same period.

Sometimes it looks like cross-border ecommerce is an easy task. Just look at the success of global market places such as Amazon and eBay or the international expansion of European players like Asos or Zalando. However, it requires a lot of research, adaptation, flexibility and understanding of the new market to be successful.

Payment service company Alternative Payments has launched a payment widget which should help retailers and consumers tackling cross-border barrier issues. The solution automatically locates the consumers and then displays the appropriate language, currency and payment options that apply to that particular customer.

It's getting colder, so it's the perfect opportunity to visit some ecommerce events in Europe. In conference halls it's warm and cozy and while you're there, you get new insights, meet interesting people and do business! We made a handy overview for you, so you know when and where an ecommerce event in Europe takes place.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are only one month away and these days mean big business for online retailers across Europe. But in some countries these aren't the biggest days for online shopping. In the Netherlands and Austria for example, most online revenue is expected to be generated on December 12. See what the biggest days are for online shopping in Europe.

Online luxury retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter wants to fully focus on mobile commerce. After investing in new technology and services, the ecommerce company wants to become a mobile-only company. Its CEO thinks mcommerce will account for 75 percent of total sales by 2020.

The European Commission carried out a check across 697 ecommerce websites across the European Union and found that 63 percent of them had missing, unclear of incomprehensible information on the right of withdrawal from a transaction. One in three websites had incomplete or unclear details about the trader, while one in five failed to provide consumers with a clear display of price or contract conditions.

A new study shows that 54 percent of European consumers regularly use their mobile device to make payments. The number of consumers making mobile payments has tripled in the past year, as 18 percent used mobile payments to pay for goods and services last year.

The president of Russian Railways, Oleg Belozerov, and the CEO of Russian Post, Dmitry Strashnov, have signed an agreement for the rail transport of mail and small parcels between China and Europe. The project should help reduce the time parcels are on its way, while also reducing transport costs for online retailers.

SaaS ecommerce platform Kooomo and French online payment solution HiPay have partnered, giving Kooomo's ecommerce merchants access to the HiPay payment solution directly from the platform. HiPay offers over 220 local and international payments methods.

Ecommerce now accounts for 4.4 percent of all FMCG sales, research shows. Grocery ecommerce is set to grow to 9 percent of the market and be worth 135 billion euros by 2025. In Europe, the UK and France are the countries with the highest online value share of the FMCG market, but the continent is lagging behind Asia.

Mastercard is rolling out a new technology in Europe which makes it possible for consumers to pay with a selfie. The service, officially called Identity Check Mobile, let users verify their identity by taking a photo of themselves so a payment can be completed.

What does Europe has to offer oppose the digital superpowers Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple? Well, virtually nothing. But that can change, says 'ecommerce professor' Gerrit Heinemann. His plan is called 'VEZOS', a play on words with Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.

More than three-quarters of online shoppers in Europe are willing to exceed the minimum order thresholds if this means they will get free delivery or collection. But at the same time, 63 percent would likely switch to another retailer if they have a poor experience with delivery or click & collect.

September was a very busy month when it comes to ecommerce events in September. Luckily there are still some nice and interesting events, conferences and exhibitions left for October. We made a handy overview for you, so you know when and where an ecommerce event in Europe takes place.