France

Ten leading global online grocery markets are predicted to generate combined sales of almost 200 billion euros, at an annual rate of 20 percent, by 2023. And four of them are from Europe. The United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain are predicted to have the highest online grocery market sizes in Europe.

Ecommerce software provider Intershop introduced its commerce-as-a-service solution in February of this year. This software solution is an important strategical milestone in the company's cloud-first strategy. Ecommerce News Europe interviewed Sales Director EMEA Gerrit Enthoven about the current state of affairs.

Cdiscount Marketplace is busy expanding outside of France. The online marketplace now also delivers some items to Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain. This means, the 10,000 connected sellers suddenly get access to a new 200 million customer base.

Viniexport, an online marketplace from Italy that enables companies to buy and sell wine worldwide, has secured a 2 million euros funding round. With the money, the marketplace wants to pursue its European expansion.

Ecommerce in France grew 14 percent last year. The online business-to-consumer turnover was worth just under 82 billion euros and is expected to rise even further in the coming year. The French ecommerce turnover is forecast to be worth 93 billion euros at the end of this year.

The Senate in France wants to introduce a tax on ecommerce. More specific, on deliveries from ecommerce companies to online consumers. The upper house of the French parliament wants to do this to protect city centers and smaller businesses across the country.

At the end of last year, French ecommerce federation Fevad counted about 173,000 active retail websites in France. This is an increase of 10 percent compared to one year earlier, when there were 157,273 active merchant websites in France.

Google entered a deal with Carrefour to sell groceries online in France. Next year, shoppers in this European country will be able to buy Carrefour's products through Google's platforms such as Google Home, Google Assistant and Google Shopping.

French supermarket chain Franprix has started tests with delivering groceries to the customer's home, while the customer isn't at home during the delivery. Franprix is the first company to test this kind of service in France.

Get the Label, an UK online retailer specialized in discount fashion and footwear, has launched a new ecommerce website in France. After seeing significant growth in international orders coming from its main website, the company decided to introduce a dedicated website for the French market.

Six online retailers from France have created a new shopping event. This event, called French Days, should provide a local alternative to the famous Black Friday shopping event. The event will run from 27 April until 1 May.

Online shoppers from the Netherlands love to shop at ecommerce websites located in China and Germany, but last year there was a strongly increased interest in online shops from France and Spain. Dutch online shoppers spent 84 percent more in France last year than in comparison with 2016.

Amazon Prime users in France are now able to place 1-click orders on tens of millions of products that ship with Prime. The US ecommerce company has launched virtual Dash buttons in France, two years after the physical Dash buttons were announced.

French postal service company La Poste has launched Colissimo Pass, a subscription service which offers customers unlimited free delivery. Currently, the subscription service costs 9 euros per year. In return, customers enjoy unlimited delivery and zero shipping costs on partner websites.

Amazon will launch Amazon Prime Now grocery deliveries in France this year. Thanks to a partnership with French retailer Monoprix, a subsidiary of Casino Group, Prime Now customers will be able to order groceries sourced by Monoprix through the Prime Now app and website.