Gap, the American clothing retailer, is active in Europe for quite some time. But while it has seen some steady growth in the United States these last couple of years, its presence in Europe is slightly less positive. Revenues here have come down from €516 million in 2010 to €507 million in 2012, despite continued expansion. Continue reading
The total online economy of sold goods and services in Western Europe amounted €158.1 billion last year, but is expected to grow to €173.8 billion in 2013, according to new data from Ecommerce Europe, an umbrella organisation for online retailers active in Europe. Continue reading
A new tool is released which should help online stores be protected against the automated retrieval of prices by competitors. The anti-scraping software BotDefender is developed by France-founded software company Lokad and can be used and implemented for free. Continue reading
France is lagging behind in terms of frequency of purchasing and the recruitment of new online buyers. Is that bad news? The fact that less new customers arise doesn’t have to be that bad. But the fact that the frequency of purchasing online is no longer increasing, could have a negative effect on French ecommerce. Continue reading
Slightly more than 12 percent of the total online sales during the holiday season in Europe will come from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. That’s an increase of 68 percent compared to the same period a year ago. The growth in Europe is bigger than the mobile holiday sales growth in the United States. Continue reading
The mobile retail audience in Europe grew by 43 percent over the past year, with 20 percent of smartphone users visiting online retail sites and apps using their mobile phone. Also 1 in 7 smartphone users from the five leading European markets (the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain)have completed a retail transaction on their phone in a month. Continue reading
A bill to forbid internet booksellers from offering free delivery has been approved by the lower house in France. Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti accused Amazon ‘dumping’ in order to destroy French competition. Once its competition was out of the way, Amazon would raise its delivery prices, says the minister. Amazon thinks the bill is “discrimination against online consumers”. Continue reading
A double digit growth rate above 10% in B2C ecommerce sales in Western Europe is expected for 2013. Total ecommerce sales in this region are expected to reach over 300 billion euros by 2016, as cross border shopping continues to gain popularity among European consumers. Continue reading
We all know Facebook, Twitter and Google+. But what about the local social networks in Europe, like Hyves, Tuenti or Yonja? Say you want to expand your ecommerce business to Spain, do you know on which social network you can reach the youngsters? We do! Let’s have a look at some popular social networks in Europe. Continue reading
Nowadays it is commonplace to buy books, music, clothes or electronics online. Buying groceries online isn’t. But that’s about to change in Europe as several supermarkets are starting to embrace ‘online’ as a sales channel. In particular, France is trying to capitalise on the trend. About 20 percent of the population is already using drive-through collection for grocies ordered online. Continue reading