Share of European consumers that shop online vs. offline each week 2023

Although consumers in Europe still shop in physical stores more frequently, the number of people that shop online each week is not to be discredited: in Germany, for example, close to half of consumers shopped online each week in 2023. Just over four in five German shoppers said they visited physical stores at least once a week. Of the countries analyzed, Finland and Norway had the lowest share of weekly online shoppers.

What do European shoppers order online?

When asked which products they mostly bought online rather than offline in 2022, consumers in various European countries opted for many of the same items. Clothing, as well as books, movies, music, and games, were among the most popular items in countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom (UK). And although these products were frequently ordered online in Italy too, the leading product category among Italian online shoppers was that of consumer electronics.

Comparison with the U.S.

In spite of the fact that products and services can often be found more easily or for cheaper online, continental Europeans still do not use online shopping channels as frequently as Americans do. According to the same survey, nearly 60 percent of consumers in the United States stated they shopped in online stores at least once a week.