European e-commerce sales is expected to reach €602 billion in 2017, a report from Ecommerce Foundation claims.
According to the same report, e-commerce growth in Europe is declining (down by 7,63% since 2010), but remains strong, with 13.62% growth in 2017.
“The ongoing strength of electronic commerce and industry innovation will fuel further growth in electronic payment volumes in Europe. However, SEPA and new EU regulations such as PSD2 are set to exert a considerable influence on the European payments market over the next few years. As such, compliance will be an important issue for merchants who want to take full advantage of the opportunities that the European market represents,” says David Shell, VP of Global Marketing at Ingenico.
A new report has found that Southern Europe is the fastest growing region across the old continent – up by 3% in 2017. The United Kingdom is still dominating European e-commerce market with annual online sales of €197 billion, followed by Germany and France with €86 billion and €82 billion respectively.
A personalised and connected experience across all channels, as well as friendly and well-informed personnel, raise the bar for retailers. Gaining a holistic view of shoppers, orders and inventory is the essential backbone of connected commerce. The challenge is now for retailers to bring together technology, processes and people to meet consumers’ shopping expectations, today and tomorrow. Pieter Van den Broecke, Managing Director Benelux and Germany at Manhattan Associates
The report also focus on technology & online shopping behaviour and noted that 75% of online shoppers in Europe used their mobile phone to purchase products online. Mobile phones, financial services and major home appliances are most popular products among online buyers.
“Technology is key. Whether AI-powered chatbots that drive conversion through personalized communications, contextual ecommerce in-the-moment, shorter delivery times or seamless processes, winning innovations are all focused on delivering great experiences.
The companies that do best tend to see ecommerce as a strategic rather than a tactical asset. Instead of outsourcing online operations they build in-house expertise so they can run cloud-based solutions on their own terms. Doing this well means investing in a flexible, modern platform – plus of course talented people who can make the most of it – rather than focusing on a single-fix solution,” says Jamie Anderson,chief marketing officer at SAP Hybris.
“Ultimately, it’s about creating meaningful, personal interactions for consumers. Think about what sort of customer experience you expect in your own daily life. These are the benchmarks you should aim to beat. And to do this, you need to be able to manage the customer profile in real time, using contextual, in-the-moment commerce to reach them on multiple platforms throughout their journey,” marketing specialist continued. “For the people at the steering wheel, I’ve got one piece of advice: stay on your toes. There’s no single right answer. Learning from and adjusting to your customers is a constant process. If you can do that, you’ll do well.”
