Global Ecommerce

France

France is the 3rd largest ecommerce market in Europe with an online revenue of over €46b in 2012. Out of a population of 66m people, 79.6% are online and 71% prefer to shop online.

France has some of the fastest growth rates for internet usage. In 2012, there were around 39m online shoppers. 75.2% of the French internet population reported using the internet to shop and there was an increase in new online shoppers by 5%. 87% of 25-34 year olds reported that they preferred to shop online as did 97% of French woman between ages 20-60.

When French consumers are buying online, 80% people value free shipping, 53% like to see a free returns option and 49% want to be able to return a product to a brick and mortar store. 24% of people will search the internet before buying in a shop but 26% of people choose in-store over internet buying. France is home to between 110,000 to 130,000 independent online shops as well as French versions of popular marketplaces such as Amazon (www.amazon.fr) and Ebay (www.ebay.fr) - which receive millions of visitors every month.

In France, it is common for the average person to use more than one phone and over 50% of the population own at least one smart phone. Mobile commerce increased by 150% in one year, showing the effects of new technology. 14% of French online shoppers reported using their mobile to buy online and in 2012, all m-commerce represented 5% of the annual turnover.