Online shopping behavior in Europe - statistics & facts
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Over the past decade, it has become clear that e-commerce is increasingly becoming a mainstay in the European economy. In 2024, e-commerce accounted for almost 20 percent of enterprises’ revenue in the European Union. In other terms, online retail and, by extension, online shopping among consumers, have become very common in Europe, and both continue to grow consistently. With this growth, new behaviors and preferences have developed among e-commerce consumers.
European online consumers are showing deep knowledge of the e-commerce market and quick adoption of new technologies during the payment process. The behavior of European online shoppers is expected to continue changing with the integration of new technologies into the shopping process.
A foreign leader
In a market estimated to be worth over 700 billion U.S. dollars fierce competition is inherent, which is precisely what can be seen in the European market. However, in most of the big European online markets there is a clear leader: Amazon. The e-commerce giant was the top online store in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France in 2024. In each of these countries, Amazon more than doubled the net sales of its closest competitor, showing its dominance across the continent. The European market is crucial for Amazon, as Germany and the United Kingdom are the main markets of the American retailer, outside of its domestic market.A multitude of online payment options
With the rise of e-commerce, online payment providers have not been standing still. Payment options are a key criterion in consumer attitudes on online shopping, and every day there are more options to choose from. The rising star in e-commerce payments is the digital wallet. In 2024, digital wallets represented a third of the e-commerce transaction value in Europe, 12 percentage points more than in 2014. Far from stagnate, this payment method is expected to continue thriving and represent 46 percent of the e-commerce transaction value in the region by 2030. Developments in online payment also reflect the current economic situation – inflation and economic hardship have resulted in the popularization of Buy Now, Pay Later services. PayPal and Klarna are the market leaders in many European countries.European online consumers are showing deep knowledge of the e-commerce market and quick adoption of new technologies during the payment process. The behavior of European online shoppers is expected to continue changing with the integration of new technologies into the shopping process.
