Ireland

Enterprise Ireland, a government organization aimed to let Irish enterprises grow, has opened a ecommerce fund to accelerate the online offering of retailers in Ireland and to increase their competitiveness. The 1.25 million euros fund opened last Wednesday and will remain open for six weeks.

Ecommerce platform provider xSellco has launched eDesk, a helpdesk that integrates with several ecommerce marketplaces, shopping carts and social channels, and should help online retailers to scale their customer support strategy.

Asendia, a joint venture of La Poste and Swiss Post, and Irish postal operator An Post have formed a partnership to help cross-border retailers exploit ecommerce in Ireland. The partnership lets Asendia offer retailers access to the last mile delivery of An Post, from the 15 countries where Asendia operates.

Zalando is finally expanding again. The German fashion company will open online stores in Ireland and the Czech Republic this summer. These are the first two countries Zalando will enter since 2013. Both Ireland and the Czech Republic will be served by the company's existing logistics sites.

Ecommerce websites in Ireland welcomed a third consecutive year of revenue growth in 2017. Last year, the total online revenue of these companies increased by 45 percent year-on-year. Increased employment, improved broadband and browsing experiences have led to this growth.

The majority of consumers in Ireland also turn to the United Kingdom for online shopping. The fact that the ecommerce industry in the UK offers more choice, is the main advantage to shopping from the UK, nearly half of those who shop with UK retailers say.

Gourmondo, a German online distributor of unusual foods, is expanding in Europe. After launching in Germany and the Netherlands, the ecommerce website is now also available in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Austria. Consumers from these countries can now also buy wines and specialty foods online.

The Irish ecommerce association eCAI has joined EMOTA, the European association for multi-channel and online retailers. According to Maurits Bruggink, secretary general of EMOTA, the eCAI membership comes at a pivotal time for Irish businesses. "Especially in light of the UK referendum result and pending Brexit negotiations."

Online consumer spending in the United Kingdom increased by 8.4 percent in April compared to the same month last year. This annual increase was the fastest seen in the UK ecommerce industry since December 2014. In Ireland, consumers even spent 18.7 percent more in April than they did one year ago.

H&M has opened several new online stores in Europe. It now has dedicated websites in Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Luxembourg and Ireland. The fashion retailer offers the same range as it does in the physical stores, with complete collections for men, women and children, including accessories.

Visa will make its online payment service Visa Checkout available to merchants and consumers in the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Poland and Spain this year. With Visa Checkout, users have the security and convenience of the Visa card, but then in the digital world.

Lesara, a Berlin-based online fashion and lifestyle retailer, has announced it will now also supply customers in the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria, The Republic of Ireland, Romania, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

eShopWorld, which offers modules for cross-border retailers, has been ranked number one in the local Deloitte Technology Fast 50. This list ranks the fastest growing technology companies in Ireland based on average percentage revenue growth over four years. eShopWorld achieved growth of more than 9,900 percent during this period.

An Post, the state-owned postal services provider of Ireland, is joining the world of delivery boxes. Last month, An Post announced it has started its Delivery Box service. "No more missed deliveries, stress-free online shopping and your parcels delivered safely even when you are out", the company promises.

A survey among several European countries shows that it's especially the Dutch and Irish consumers who are interested in fashion deals. Italians on the other hand, aren't that keen on such deals. Of all 17 discount categories, coupon codes for women's clothing didn't make into the top 5 of most used discount codes for this country.