The European business-to-consumer e-commerce market will reach nearly €323 billion over the next five years, up from €106 billion in 2006, according to a new report from eMarketer.
The
European B2C E-Commerce: Spotlight on the UK, Germany and France shows that these three countries dominate European e-commerce, accounting for 72% of total online sales.
The UK is by far the largest of the three major markets with projected 2007 sales of £42 ($84) billion. It is on track to grow 39% this year.
Germany has the most online buyers, with 29.2 million, yet produces half the online sales volume that the UK does. On average, German and French buyers are spending considerably less online per person than their UK counterparts.
European e-commerce is growing in waves. The first wave began with the UK, Germany and France. Over the next four years the engine for market growth will be a set of smaller markets, namely Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. A third wave will follow early in the next decade, as Eastern European countries like Russia, Poland, and the Czech Republic begin to seriously embrace e-commerce, says eMarketer.
Recent figures released by comScore revealed that US online consumer spending was up 23% year on year in the second quarter of 2007 (see US Online Consumer Spending Increases).
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