The European e-commerce market is a substantial one, with the UK, Germany and France all featuring in the top 10 globally.¹ Recent years have seen a surge in growth, fuelled partly by the COVID-19 pandemic. Germany and France – the biggest markets in the European Union and second only to the UK in Europe as a whole – both saw particularly large gains.²

The picture varies across the region, however. EU countries with the biggest proportion of their population buying or ordering goods or services online include the Netherlands (92%), Denmark (90%) and Ireland (89%), while at the other end of the scale Bulgaria has less than 50% of its population shopping online (49%).³

What’s particularly interesting is the demand for cross-border shopping. Almost a third of online shoppers in the EU (31%) buy from businesses in other EU countries.⁴

Cross-border shopping accounts for a quarter of total e-commerce revenue in the EU, but again the picture varies across the region, with 8 in 10 Austrian online shoppers making a cross-border purchase in 2022 compared to around 5 in 10 in Sweden.⁵

Meanwhile, cross-border shopping doubled in the Netherlands between 2020 and 2023.⁶

Across the EU, clothes, shoes, and accessories are the most common online purchase, followed by restaurant deliveries; cosmetics, beauty and wellness products; printed books, magazines and newspapers; and sports goods (excluding sports clothing).⁷

As well as being a huge market, Europe offers several advantages to exporters already based in the region. Three of those are:
 

Simpler shipping within the EU

EU businesses shipping to other EU markets can ship without border restrictions – or duties and taxes. Compared with shipping further afield, this means a layer of documentation, administration and potential expense is removed from the process. As a result, many businesses may find it easier to expand regionally first before moving onto other overseas markets.

Fast deliveries

The proximity of EU countries to each other, combined with the absence of customs barriers, means shipping is fast. Deliveries to other countries in the EU can be made almost as quickly (if not as quickly) as those to customers in domestic markets, enhancing competitiveness and potentially proving a more compelling option for customers in the region than businesses located in non-EU countries.
 

Familiarity

One of the keys to success when expanding internationally is understanding the market. While European countries can be very different from each other, there are also some inherent similarities across cultures, consumers and legal formalities that give exporters in the region an in-built advantage. It also means businesses aiming to expand to new markets can test out the water in surroundings they may find more comfortable than those further afield.
 

A large proportion of consumers in the EU educate themselves before they buy. Over 40% of them are habitual online researchers ahead of making any major purchases,¹⁵ so it’s important that your website contains all the information they are looking for – and that it can be found easily. But what is it that they want? Consumers in several European countries say a good returns policy, in-stock product availability and fast and/or reliable delivery.¹⁶

For the latter, however, it’s important to think beyond the headline speed. It’s important of course, but meaningless if customers still struggle to get their parcels. So also consider the delivery infrastructure, and how well it works for customers – whether that’s providing effective tracking or having retail pick-up options alongside home delivery.

Above everything else, frictionless payment when shopping online is the most wanted innovation globally.¹⁷ Does your website deliver? There are several things to consider, not least the fact that – despite much of Europe sharing a common currency – payment preferences can vary wildly. For example, cards are the most popular payment method in France for consumer purchases,¹⁸ while in Germany it’s online payment services such as PayPal and AmazonPay.¹⁹

More generally, digital wallets are proving popular among consumers, with research suggesting they will account for over half of all e-commerce transactions globally by 2025.²⁰ And be aware of newer payment options such as Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) too. The European BNPL market is expected to be worth €300bn by 2025, accounting for 11% of all e-commerce transactions.²¹

Economic difficulties across Europe are having an impact on shopping behaviour. Research shows that consumers are cutting back, although they are still spending online. There’s a search for value, however, with 43% taking more advantage of discounts and coupons than they did previously.²²

Yet that search for value is providing opportunities for some cross-border sellers, with consumers buying this way regularly and younger generations most likely to do so – 71% of millennials shop cross-border several times a year, as do 60% of Gen Z shoppers.²³ So the key could be to understand the challenges consumers are facing, and the way their shopping behaviour is changing as a result.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the opportunities for expansion in Europe, there are several e-commerce events you could attend where you will be able to meet experts on a variety of topics. Alternatively, you could visit our e-commerce page and get in touch with our sales team.