Online shopping is a truly global phenomenon. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) spend, where retailers sell straight to the end user, is worth multiple billions – and it just keeps on growing.
While the world watches the stratospheric growth of eCommerce in countries like China and the United States, customer confidence across Europe is also on the rise.
As a platform for business beginners, Zyro is taking a look at where the biggest European eCommerce markets can be found, based on what percentage of each population shops online.
Watch as we track which countries have adopted online retail the most over the past 10 years, and find out where eCommerce is likely headed.
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What does the map show?
We’re looking at data collated every year since 2010, showing who out of a country’s population has recently used eCommerce to purchase products.
These users had to have shopped online in the 3 months prior to each annual data sweep.
Focusing specifically on Europe, we’re illustrating the exciting growth of online shopping across one diverse continent, where not every country has yet been bitten by the eCommerce bug.
Some predictions have been made. First, with little data on eCommerce usage in Albania, we have estimated where the country sits in the overall rankings.
Next, we have used the trajectories between 2010-2019 to predict how eCommerce usage will grow per country in the years up to 2026.
United Kingdom
Worth an estimated $223 billion, the online retail market in the U.K has consistently been the biggest in Europe. In the 10 years prior to the pandemic, it grew an estimated 20%.
A global power player when it comes to online retail, it’s worth trying to attract U.K shoppers if you own an apparel or accessories business.
The Baltic region
Western European countries like the U.K, Switzerland, and Germany retain the highest levels of eCommerce consumers, but there’s impressive growth elsewhere, too.
As the chart shows, Estonia saw the biggest overall increase of online purchases per capita, with an estimated 43% leap between 2010 – 2019.
Lithuanian shoppers have also grown in confidence: in the same period, the percentage of people using eCommerce increased by 31%.
It’s estimated that the best performing retail category in Lithuania is toys and DIY, but we’ve seen a variety of local online stores find success with Zyro websites.
Sites like Shleps, Millaw Kids, and Forrest all showcase Lithuanian-based businesses that are set to take over the world of eCommerce.
What’s next?
As the world becomes more and more accustomed to making transactions online, the D2C eCommerce market will only get bigger.
Expect to see countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Turkey grow even more in confidence with their online shopping decisions.
Looking forward over the next 5 years to 2026, we expect to see some other countries contend with the U.K for the top spot.
Ireland saw its population embrace eCommerce in the last decade, with usage growing by around 40% – could we see nearly the whole country shopping online by 2026?
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