Ireland

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.

DHL has further expanded its European parcel network. The postal company is now able to offer its cross-border services for online customers in Ireland and Romania, while Croatia and Bulgaria will join the network in November.

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.

International Internet Day is celebrated every year on October 29, but Ireland has its own Internet Day. On October 27 this event took place in the Mansion House in Dublin and was hosted by the .ie Domain Registry. This day shows that things don't look so bright for ecommerce in Ireland; too many consumers shop online at foreign stores.

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.

Ecommerce in Ireland saw its revenue grow 45 percent last year. Traffic to ecommerce websites grew by 27 percent and this was largely driven by mobile traffic, which increased by 39 percent. In the last quarter of 2015, the mobile even overtook the desktop as the most popular device for ecommerce traffic.

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.