Retail and e-commerce - October 2021

Developments in Retail and E-commerce
Ecommerce Europe’s French national association Fevad (in French) has published its 2021 annual report (16.4 MB) on the state of the e-commerce market, presenting the key figures in France for the year 2020. The report provides an analysis of the impact of COVID-19 that has led millions of consumers to turn to e-commerce and many companies to develop or strengthen their online offer. Ecommerce Europe and EuroCommerce have published a light version (2.2 MB) of the 2021 European E-Commerce Report. E-commerce proved to be resilient and continued its growth in 2020, while accelerating the digital and sustainable transformation of many businesses and consumers.
Bevh (in German) has published the German e-commerce growth figures of the third quarter of 2021, Ecommerce Europe has made an English translation. While public life is gradually restarting, the third quarter of 2021 shows the strongest e-commerce growth since 2017. Online direct-to-consumers (D2C) sales by manufacturers (+20.5%) and multichannel sales (+21.2%) show the most significant increase compared to the third quarter of 2020.
According to CBS (in Dutch), over three-quarters of Dutch people aged 12 or older has made online purchases in 2021, 9% more than a year earlier. Of the online shoppers, 56% had complaints about the purchase.

COVID-19 crisis has fast-forwarded Europe’s e-commerce transition
According an Euler Hermes article (511 kB), the COVID-19 crisis has fast-forwarded Europe’s e-commerce transition by four to five years, especially in food retail. In the top five markets, e-commerce penetration now ranges from between 3% to 11% of grocery sales.
After the corona crisis, consumers will avoid the shopping streets in large cities more often and visit the local store more often. They will also make more frequent purchases via the internet, although physical stores remain their favourite. These are some of the conclusions from a study (in Dutch, 3.5 MB) on expected shopping behaviour after the corona pandemic by ABN AMRO (in Dutch).
In 2021, 22 expert groups from ShoppingTomorrow again delved into various topics around online and offline shopping behaviour within the B2B and B2C markets. This has resulted in several bluepapers (in Dutch) including; Personalized E-commerce 2021, Unleash the B2B E-commerce Potential 2021 and Omnichannel Strategy and Transformation 2021. You can download the bluepapers after filling in your details.

B2B e-commerce business more relevant than before
Together with other organisations, Thuiswinkel.org (in Dutch) has published the B2B E-commerce Market Monitor 2021, showing that B2B e-commerce in the Netherlands is more relevant than ever. 46% of Dutch companies have made a business order in the past 12 months. Of these ordering companies, 91% made one or more purchases online. Furthermore, three in ten have increased their online purchases in the past year, resulting in a 50% increase in online orders. You can download the report after filling in your details (in Dutch).
Wunderman Thompson has published a report which reveals that 52% of firms still experience frustration with online B2B buying and, 53% have switched supplier for all their purchases in the last 12 months. You can download the report after filling in your details.
 

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