The Market Research Company yStats.com Publishes the New "Europe B2C E-Commerce Report 2013"

Hamburg, Germany, September 27, 2013 --(PR.com)-- The new “Europe B2C E-Commerce Report 2013” by Hamburg-based secondary market research company yStats.com points to continued growth in online sales in Europe. One of the findings of the yStats researchers is that annual growth of E-Commerce sales in Eastern Europe outpaced Western Europe by 13 percentage points in 2012. A double digit growth rate above 10% in Western Europe and above 20% in Eastern Europe is expected for 2013, though this growth rate will decrease by 2017. While the growth rate is higher in the Eastern region, sales are much higher in the more mature Western Europe online market: total E-Commerce sales in Europe amounted to nearly two hundred billion Euros in 2012 and are expected to reach over 300 billion by 2016, but the total for the Eastern region is expected to reach just over 50 billion euros that year. Cross border shopping is a growing trend in the EU, reaching over 10% of online shoppers in 2012, a figure expected to double by 2015.

Consumers becoming more comfortable with online shopping

The yStats.com report points out that nearly half of consumers in the EU 27 shopped online at least once in 2012. Among the countries with the highest online shopper penetration are the Scandinavian countries, UK, Germany, Netherlands and France, all above the EU average. Bulgaria, Italy and Romania are among the countries with the lowest participation in online shopping. The most popular product categories in Europe by audience reach were consumer electronics and apparel. The Leading shopping websites were Amazon, Apple, and Otto Group’s sites. Price comparison websites are also popular.

Western Europe are considered mature B2C E-Commerce markets

B2C E-Commerce sales in the United Kingdom reached a significant double digit figure in billions of Euros in 2012, and further growth is expected. One on the main trends driving online shopping in the UK is mobile commerce: the share of mobile purchases on total B2C E-Commerce sales doubled in 2012. Major online sales players such as Amazon, Argos, Next, and Tesco have a significant share of traffic generated through the mobile channel.

In Central Europe Germany shows double-digit growth in B2C E-Commerce

In Germany, B2C E-Commerce sales reached several tens of billions of euros in 2012 and showed double digit growth over 2011. As a share of total retail sales, B2C E-Commerce accounted for several percentage points less than 10% in 2012, and the share is expected to increase by one percentage point in 2013. The most used payment methods for online shopping in Germany are invoice and PayPal, a contrast with many other European E-Commerce markets where bank cards are the most popular payment method. US based mass-merchant Amazon is the largest E-Commerce player, while the Germany based Otto Group continues expansion into domestic as well as international B2C E-Commerce. German online retailers benefit from popularity with shoppers in neighboring Austria.

Eastern Europe sees higher rate of growth in online sales

B2C E-Commerce in Russia grew by over a quarter in 2012, reaching a double digit figure in billions of euros. Further expansion in the online retail market is expected. Some product categories, such as household goods, cosmetics and auto parts have shown recent growth of over 50%. The clothing segment, including such players as Lamoda and Kupivip, has attracted large investments from overseas as well as domestic investors. The largest online retailer, mass merchant Ozon, increased its sales by a high double digit figure above 50%.

The growth of the Russian B2C E-Commerce market has attracted the attention of foreign players, with Asos launching a local website and Amazon opening a local office in the Spring of 2013. In the Czech Republic, B2C E-Commerce sales are increasing with the expectation of reaching several billions of Euros in 2013. Already over 40% of Internet users in the country shop online. In Slovenia, this share is even larger, as over 50% of Internet users are online shoppers.

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About yStats.com
yStats.com has been committed to research up-to-date, objective and demand-based data on markets and competitors for top managers from various industries since 2005. Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, the firm has a strong international focus and is specialized in secondary market research. In addition to offering reports on markets and competitors, yStats.com also carries out client-specific research. Clients include leading global enterprises from various industries including B2C E-Commerce, electronic payment systems, mail order and direct marketing, logistics, as well as banking and consulting.