Ecommerce in France continues to grow at a decent pace and it has been forecast that it will top €100bn in 2019.
According to FEVAD, the national ecommerce association, greater interest in shopping online and the continued adoption of smartphones, are the key drivers of the growth. They report that ecommerce in France during 2017 was worth €81.7bn. They forecast that in 2018, it will total €90bn, up 14% year on year. For comparison: ecommerce in France was worth €72 billion in 2016.
Because French shoppers are buying more, more frequently, the average basket value per shop has declined slightly for the seventh consecutive year. Fevad also note that lower or free shipping costs and unlimited delivery subscriptions have had an impact. The average French online shopper made 28 transactions in 2016, but made more online shops in 2017, an average of 33.
Marketplaces and mobile also continue to grow. Sales on the likes of Amazon et al increased by 15% year on year and mobile commerce saw 38% growth over 2016. All in all, ecommerce now represents 8.7% of the total retail sector in France and that’s up from 7.7% in 2016.
If you’re proficient in french then you can find more detail about the state of ecommerce in France on this page.
Marketplaces in France
Aside from the usual suspects of Amazon and eBay, which both have marketplaces there, there are quite a number of outlets for merchants in France that you can plug into. And the encouraging growth figures could be the spur you need to start selling to France and getting your share of the action. The postal service is swift and efficient and payments are easily tackled. Language, dealing with customers in French and translating your listings, and dealing with tax and currency conversion, are probably the biggest headaches. But nothing is insurmountable.
Here is Tamebay’s appraisal of a few of bigger players:
LaRedoute
FNAC
Spartoo
CDiscount
