The United Kingdom

There has been a serious drop in the number of European retailers that offer free returns to their customers. It went from 55 percent in the first quarter of this year to 28 percent now. In the UK, half of brands offer free returns, while 23 percent in Germany and 21 percent in Ireland do this.

The eCommerce Expo, held on 27 and 28 September in London, has a new owner. Today, CloserStill Media, Justin Opie and Graeme Howe have announced that they are acquiring eCommerce Expo from UBM. Howe and Opie are the former owners of IMP Events, from where they launched eCommerce Expo in 2006.

The United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union isn't making things easier for British ecommerce companies. After last year's Brexit vote, some online retailers say it's now harder to hire staff for their warehouses.

French consumers are more open to new delivery methods than consumers from the United Kingdom or the Netherlands. For example, 58 percent of the French would give couriers temporary access to their homes to let them deliver parcels. In the UK and the Netherlands, it's respectively only 36 and 25 percent of consumers who would do this.

Ocado, the online-only grocery retailer from the United Kingdom, has launched a mobile app for Alexa, the voice-controlled assistant from Amazon. Customers are now able to add a product to their basket, receive inspiration and keep track of orders by using solely their voice.

International returns platform ReBound has introduced its return services to the ecommerce market in the United Kingdom. With ReBound, online retailers can manage both international and domestic returns using one multi-carrier returns solutions.

When an online basket was filled with 39 popular summer products in six countries across Europe, the ecommerce industry in France happened to have the highest prices. This 'summer basket' however is most expensive for consumers in Spain, as they have the lowest gross domestic product per capita among these countries.

Logistics provider Hermes has opened an automated parcel distribution hub in the United Kingdom, which is said to be the biggest one in the country. The hub measures 2,500 square meters and has the capability to process over one million parcels per day.

Ecommerce in the United Kingdom grew 17.8 percent last year, and was worth 174 billion euros. The growth rate is the same as in 2013, while in the last two years the growth rate was much lower. Last year, 82 percent of internet users in the UK shopped online.

The majority of online shoppers in the United Kingdom prefer fast to free delivery, while retailers think these delivery options are equally valued by consumers. Retailers think 43 percent of shoppers want free delivery and 57 percent prefer fast delivery, but in reality it's 86 percent of UK shoppers who prefer free shipping.

Almost nine in ten Brits have sent or received a parcel in the last six months. That's no surprise, as the courier and express delivery market showed a €1.1 billion increase in sales last year. The Brits now spend as much as 11.4 billion euros on these services.

Parcel companies could improve the efficiency of their delivery by 30 percent if they use What3words, the UK startup claims. With What3words, you don't refer to addresses the usual way ("Main Street 1"), but by pinpointing exact delivery locations using a unique combination of three different words.

Payments processor Worldpay has launched a pilot scheme, which enables microbusinesses to accept payments from costumers with an app instead of needing a card terminal. What is said to be an industry first could really help small businesses with accepting card payments easily.

It has become commonplace in the United Kingdom to use a smartphone to buy goods and services online. This year, almost 59 percent of digital buyers in the UK, which corresponds to over 25 million people, will make online purchases using their smartphone.

Only one week after Ikea announced it has plans to sell its products through third-party websites, the Swedish retailer is now offering select Ikea products through Amazon. Thousands of products are available in all countries where Amazon has a dedicated online store.