Mathilde Carlier
Research Expert covering transportation and logistics
Parcel market in France - statistics & facts
The courier, express, and parcel (CEP) market in Europe was worth over 62.6 billion euros in 2021, rising by some 8.35 billion euros compared to 2020. This growth was partly boosted by an increase in e-commerce business-to-consumer (B2C) sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Parcel shipping revenue in France recorded a slower rise, up 1.4 billion U.S. dollars (some 1.28 billion euros, based on June 2023 exchange rates) between 2020 and 2021. This revenue increase paired with a French CEP market volume growth of 264 million pieces.
The French parcel market stands out from its European counterpart in part due to its reliance on French courier and parcel companies. While DHL was the leading delivery service provider in Europe, handling 44 percent of couriers and local deliveries in the region in 2017, the service provider only held four percent of the French parcel shipping provider market in 2021. La Poste S.A., a public limited company, made up 48 percent of the market with its express service Chronopost and standard delivery brand Colissimo.
This helps contextualize the drop in La Poste’s services, mail, and parcel deliveries segment. La Poste boasted good popularity among online shoppers in 2022 due to its investment in diversifying its services, including developing its express shipping segment. Since 2021, its services, mail, and parcel deliveries were not La Poste’s main source of revenue, representing less than a quarter of its 2022 turnover. By contrast, GeoPost—La Poste’s holding company for express service providers like DPD and Chronopost—has grown to represent the group’s most profitable segment in terms of revenue.
The interconnectedness of the French parcel market
With the rising ease of access to shops all over the world via the internet, national parcel markets are becoming increasingly interconnected. Cross-border parcel deliveries also play an important part in the French market, with 1.73 billion euros of the country’s 2021 distributed parcel revenue coming from imported parcels—around 115 million more than in 2020. France imported parcels more than it exported them, with parcel export revenue reaching nearly 1.5 million euros in 2021.The French parcel market stands out from its European counterpart in part due to its reliance on French courier and parcel companies. While DHL was the leading delivery service provider in Europe, handling 44 percent of couriers and local deliveries in the region in 2017, the service provider only held four percent of the French parcel shipping provider market in 2021. La Poste S.A., a public limited company, made up 48 percent of the market with its express service Chronopost and standard delivery brand Colissimo.
Managing consumer expectations
In a March 2023 online survey, 32 percent of respondents from France mentioned they preferred express shipping when ordering an item on an e-commerce platform. Estimated delivery times perceived as too long were among the main delivery-related reasons for cart abandonment among French online shoppers, as highlighted by nearly half of the participants in a 2022 survey.This helps contextualize the drop in La Poste’s services, mail, and parcel deliveries segment. La Poste boasted good popularity among online shoppers in 2022 due to its investment in diversifying its services, including developing its express shipping segment. Since 2021, its services, mail, and parcel deliveries were not La Poste’s main source of revenue, representing less than a quarter of its 2022 turnover. By contrast, GeoPost—La Poste’s holding company for express service providers like DPD and Chronopost—has grown to represent the group’s most profitable segment in terms of revenue.
