Online sales in Europe grew by 13.3 percent in 2015, reaching €455.3 billion. About 43 percent of Europeans now shop online, and only 16 percent of them have made cross-border purchases. According to E-commerce Europe, the European online sales confederation, which hosted its annual conference in Barcelona on May 30, online sales are expected to reach €510 billion in 2016, followed by more than €598 billion in 2017 and €660 billion in 2018.
The U.K., French and German markets between themselves currently account for 60 percent of European online revenues. Germany leads in number of e-shoppers, with 51.6 million customers, against 43.4 million in the U.K. In terms of revenues, the U.K. leads with total sales worth €157.1 billion, with an average outlay of €3,625 per year. The top performer for growth is Ukraine, which posted a 35 percent increase in sales compared with 2014, followed by Turkey with a 34.9 percent rise and then Belgium, which registered a 34.2 percent increase.
On the sales side, only 16 percent of the companies based in the Eurozone are currently selling online, and only 7.5 percent of them sell abroad. E-commerce Europe has therefore pointed to the need for European companies to expand cross-border business, although this development faces important challenges such as legal variations, fiscal matters (VAT) and logistics issues. The organization has called for simpler consumption rules, as well as open regulations and improved efficiency in parcel delivery.
