Ecommerce Statistics: Europe
Ecommerce statistics: a survey of ecommerce prospects in Europe,
with references and information sources.
Background: Ecommerce in Europe
You'll find ecommerce statistics vital for doing business in
Europe.
Though the region had the potential to reach $1.6 trillion in
online trade by 2004, Forrester {1} estimated in 1999, Europe
has been slow to adopt the necessary site personalization, channel
integration and technology. {2} {3}
The best of European ecommerce sites have been as good as their
American counterparts, but many — probably the majority —
have lost money. Indeed, a recent check by the British Chamber
of Commerce {4} reports that three-quarters of smaller firms and
more than half of medium ones surveyed had seen no return on the
£1,000 to £100,000 spent on their ecommerce site.
As the table indicates {5}, only a tiny fraction of retail sales
are currently made online, and many visitors are only window-shoppers.
country
|
ecommerce as % of total retail sales
|
country
|
% online window shopping
|
country
|
% of internet users buying online
|
Sweden
|
0.68
|
Finland
|
28
|
Sweden
|
27
|
UK
|
0.37
|
Netherlands
|
28
|
Norway
|
26
|
Netherlands
|
0.34
|
Sweden
|
23
|
UK
|
22
|
Germany
|
0.30
|
Norway
|
22
|
Germany
|
21
|
Belgium
|
0.16
|
Spain
|
16
|
Netherlands
|
18
|
France
|
0.14
|
France
|
14
|
Finland
|
16
|
Italy
|
0.09
|
Germany
|
14
|
France
|
8
|
Spain
|
0.06
|
Italy
|
14
|
Spain
|
8
|
Portugal
|
0.06
|
UK
|
13
|
Italy
|
7
|
Current problems include:
-
language barriers.{6}
-
multiple currencies, somewhat eased by adoption of the Euro.
-
differing tax and VAT regimes. {7}
-
uncertainty over and pending legislation on ecommerce taxation.{7}
{8}
-
lack of cross-border logistical support.
-
poor IT infrastructure.
-
conservative banking attitudes
-
restricted choice of software, payment service providers
and MAPs.
Prospects 2003-4
The July 2002 Economist Information Unit {9} ranks preparedness
for ecommerce in Europe as follows (USA scoring 8.41)
country
|
Index
|
country
|
index
|
country
|
index
|
Netherlands
|
8.40
|
Norway
|
8.17
|
Greece
|
7.03
|
UK
|
8.38
|
Austria
|
8.10
|
Portugal
|
7.02
|
Switzerland
|
8.32
|
Ireland
|
8.02
|
Czech Republic
|
6.45
|
Sweden
|
8.32
|
Belgium
|
7.77
|
Hungary
|
6.05
|
Denmark
|
8.29
|
France
|
7.70
|
Poland
|
5.52
|
Germany
|
8.25
|
Italy
|
7.32
|
Slovakia
|
5.00
|
Finland
|
8.18
|
Spain
|
7.07
|
Romania
|
4.00
|
It's encouraging to note that Sweden, Netherlands, UK, Finland,
Denmark and Germany score well, and businessmen in these countries
generally understand English.{10} As always in business, openness
to new ideas, deregulation, entrepreneurship, incisive thinking
and planning are vital, suggesting an agile company will outperform
the large corporation if strengths are recognized and played to.
Ecommerce is still being explored in Europe {11}, and even in
the UK only 24% of companies have websites, with 10% taking orders
online. {12}. Excellent prospects exist for the right strategies.
{13} At a time of economic uncertainty {14} the market is still
open, and success for smaller companies will go to those who can
exploit local conditions and niche markets. The larger companies
will continue to streamline purchasing, logistics and human resources,
though in technology and implementation most still lag a year
behind the US. {15} A recent T.N.S. study reports that security
remains as a customer worry, particularly in Germany, and that
online shopping has increased in France and Norway over the last
year but fallen in Austria, Czech Republic and Finland. {16} Ecommerce
is firmly established in the UK, with 10 million visiting ecommerce
sites over the Christmas 2001 period, some 70% of the Internet
population. {17} A 2002 eMarketer study estimated European ecommerce
revenues at $980 billion in 2004, little more than half the earlier
Forrester prediction, but still appreciable. {18} Finally, it's
worth remembering that 75% of Internet users by 2005 will be located
in Europe and Asia. {19}.
References and Sources
This page was written in 2003, and is now out of date. For a
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