Europe

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.

Spring, a Dutch company that provides delivery solutions, has announced it now offers ecommerce businesses RFID tracking on goods that are sent internationally. This new solution, called Tag & Trace, gives online retailers who send low value goods around the world the possibility to track at minimal cost.

Ecommerce in Europe is still growing. Last year, about 253 million Europeans bought products or services online with a total value of 189 billion euros. That's 9 billion euros more than the year before. About 176 million European consumers also shopped online from abroad, which is an increase of 17 million in a year.

Just like ecommerce is still evolving, the logistics industry will look entirely different in the next 5 to 15 years. Markus Kückelhaus from DHL is looking at innovations and trends every day and has great expectations of six different technologies, that he thinks will change the logistics industry by 2030.

There are already lots of ecommerce events in Europe, but a new one will enter the area next year. And it could be an instant big one. Serial entrepreneurs Anil Aggarwal and Jonathan Weiner will then launch a new industry event, called Shoptalk Europe. This event takes place in Copenhagen between 9 and 11 October 2017.

Manufacturers in Europe have adopted several practices in order to better control the distribution of their products. It happens a lot that products can only be sold by pre-selected authorized sellers or that manufacturers sell their products online directly to consumers. But the European Commission found that manufacturers increasingly use contractual sales restrictions in their distribution agreements and this may harm consumers.

The .shop top-level domain will be generally available starting September 26, which means everyone can buy a .shop domain. If it's still available, that is. Lots of major brands and retailers already registered during the so called Sunrise phase, with applications for names including etsy.shop, walmart.shop and facebook.shop.

Amazon has launched its restaurant delivery service Amazon Restaurants in Europe. It introduced the service in London where it will compete with players such as Deliveroo and Hungry House. Prime Now users can order from several restaurants and have the meal delivered to them within an hour.

Free delivery over X euros is considered a standard service by retailers and consumers. But online  parcel tracking is still not something all online retailers offer. Also, there are still many ecommerce websites that don't offer any email or text updates.

More than half of Europeans said they think about returning an item before they have even purchased it. Also, 27 percent will not purchase abroad if the cost of returns is high and 23 percent back away from ordering abroad if the returns policy is unclear. Online retailers in Europe still have much to fix with regards to returns, a new study shows.

Summer is over and that's too bad. But it also means there are more ecommerce events to visit! September is traditionally a busy month when it comes to conferences, events and exhibitions about the online retail industry. We found all the interesting ecommerce events you could visit in Europe this month. We made a handy overview for you, so you know when and where an ecommerce event in Europe takes place.

Abercrombie & Fitch has entered into a wholesale agreement with Zalando, Europe's largest online fashion retailer. Starting this week, Zalando will offer Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and Abercrombie Kids products through its online stores in the 15 European countries it serves.

The online Dutch fashion store Winkelstraat.nl has launched an international website, which at the moment delivers to 24 countries across Europe. The English-written website Boutique24.com delivers the high-end fashion items to customers in one to three business days.