Ecommerce Europe and EuroCommerce jointly publish the European E-Commerce Report 2022. In 2021, online commerce in Europe has grown by 13% to reach 718 billion euros.
After the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, e-commerce has become even more embedded in the economy and society. The growth rate has remained stable, although it has increased slightly compared to 2020. B2C sales show that e-commerce continues to grow despite the end of confinements and the return of consumers to physical stores.
Overall, two trends can be identified. On the one hand, the normalization and stabilization of sales compared to an exceptional previous year. Indeed, e-commerce has continued to grow in 2021 and it seems that this will also be the case in 2022, with growth slowly stabilizing. On the other hand, the report highlights the caution of consumers in terms of spending. The war in Ukraine, inflation, disruption of global supply chains and a general sense of uncertainty are leading to pre-pandemic level growth. The fact that e-commerce sales are only slightly down so far shows that the sector has become indispensable and resilient. In parallel, e-commerce for services (transportation, tourism and leisure), has been steadily recovering during 2021.
Western Europe, the strongest region in terms of turnover
The European E-Commerce Report 2022 covers 37 countries across the European continent, revealing data-driven insights into the current and projected size of their digital markets and consumer trends in Internet usage and online shopping. The report includes the latest data and trends in Internet penetration, online shopping penetration, and B2C e-commerce revenue for all 37 countries, with a concentrated look at EU-27 data. It also includes interviews with the heads of the major national e-commerce associations and other valuable information for merchants, policymakers and stakeholders in the broader e-commerce space.
Western Europe is by far the strongest region in terms of B2C e-commerce revenue, accounting for 63% of total revenue by 2021. Southern Europe follows in second place with only 16% of total revenue, while Central and Northern Europe come in third and fourth (10% and 9% respectively), and Eastern Europe (2%) in last place. In 2021, Western Europe achieved 450 billion euros in online sales, compared to 118 billion euros for Southern Europe and 70 billion euros for Central Europe. Northern Europe was just behind Central Europe with 67 billion euros, followed by Eastern Europe with 14 billion euros in sales.
Other key findings show that in 2021, 73% of European online users purchased online, compared to 74% in 2020. While this reflects a slight decline in online shopping after the pandemic, several national e-commerce associations commented that the decline was less than expected, and some even reported an increase in online shopping in their market. For the first time, Northern Europe has the largest share of online shoppers, with 86% of Internet users shopping online in 2021. It is followed by Western Europe, with 84%, and Central Europe, with 75%. Eastern Europe, which includes a significant number of countries outside the European Union, has only 46% of Internet users who shopped online in 2021.
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