Positive B2C E-Commerce Trend in Western Europe

Hamburg, Germany, July 01, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Hamburg-based market research firm yStats.com published in its latest “Western Europe B2C E-Commerce Report 2011” the most recent figures highlighting trends, revenue, market shares, products, customers and competitors in e-commerce markets in Great Britain, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium. Additionally, yStats.com also provides individual country reports for the first four aforementioned countries.

In Great Britain, the largest European B2C e-commerce market, in 2010 more than 70% of all households had Internet access, while in January 2011 almost 90% accessed shopping websites. B2C e-commerce revenue grew between 2009 and 2010 by approx. 10%. Amazon was the B2C e-commerce website that generated most of the traffic. Likewise, m-commerce is expected to grow considerably. Furthermore, the yStats.com report shows that e-commerce revenue grew in France from 2009 to 2010 by more than 20%, along with the number of online shoppers, whose share increased by 12%. In 2010, more than one quarter of all French citizens ordered clothing and sports goods online. PPR, the leading French B2C generalist, generated in 2010 2.3 billion EUR in B2C e-commerce revenue (growth of 21% compared to 2009). However, only approx. 10% of all mobile phone owners in France used m-commerce in April 2010 – less than in Great Britain and Germany.

B2C e-commerce sector continues to grow in Southern Europe
The “Western Europe B2C E-Commerce Report 2011” shows that in Spain most online purchases were made from the manufacturer’s website or from online pure players. However, less than 25% of all Spaniards ordered online, which is less than the EU average. In October 2010, Amazon.com acquired the Spanish online shopping club BuyVIP. In Italy less than 20% of the population purchased products online, which is also lower than the EU average. This trend could however be reversed with the launch of the Italian Amazon website. Furthermore, in 2010 as many as 17% of all B2C e-commerce companies offered apps for smartphones and 10% had a mobile website.

Progress in Belgium and the Netherlands as well
In Belgium household items and clothing were the most popular categories for online purchases. Leading B2C e-commerce retailers included generalists La Redoute and 3 Suisses. However, less than 5% of all Belgians used their mobile phones to access the Internet, which is below the EU average. In the Netherlands in 2010 the number of online shoppers increased by 7% compared to 2009, totaling more than 9 million. Bol.com, Wehkamp and Neckermann were the most successful online retailers.

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