European online retail sales now exceed those in the US,
according to a new report commissioned by comparison website
Kelkoo and carried out by the Centre for Retail Research.
According to the study, European online retail sales grew by 19.4
percent year-on-year to €171.9 billion ($235.6 billion,
£148.0 billion) in 2010. In contrast, US online sales for
2010 grew by 11.4 percent, reaching $173 billion (€126
billion, £108.6 billion).
The European online market has been growing faster than its US
counterpart for the past three consecutive years and this trend
is set to continue into 2011, states the report. British
consumers spent £44 billion ($69.89 billion) online in 2010,
with UK online sales expected to grow by 14 percent this year, to
£50 billion ($79.63 billion). Internet shopping in the UK
accounted for 10.7 percent of total retail sales in
2010-representing the highest market share in Europe and almost
double the European average of 5.9 percent.
In Germany, online sales were €39.2 billion (£33.7
billion, $53.7 billion) in 2010, up approximately 13 percent. In
France, sales grew approximately 22 percent to €31.2
billion (£26.9 billion $42.8 billion). Between them, the top
three territories accounted for 71 percent of total online sales
in Europe in 2010.
Last year’s report noted that UK consumers were the most prolific
European online spenders in 2009, with an average of £1,102
per shopper. In 2010, they were beaten to first place by Danish
consumers, who spent an average of £1,399 each last year,
compared to £1,284 in the UK. The spend in both Denmark and
the UK is appreciably higher than the European average of
£908 ($1,442).
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