French e-commerce sales maintain double-digit growth in Q2 2014

E-commerce sales in France soared by 10.5% to €13.3 billion during the second quarter of 2014,with the number of online transactions and active buyers continuing to rise, according to the

While the average spend per purchase continued to drop during the second quarter of this year by3% to €82, compared to the same period last year, it was largely compensated by a 7% increase(year-on-year ) in purchasing frequency. The average amount that each online shopper spent duringthe second quarter overall increased to €488, up from €472 during the same period in 2013. Inaddition, the number of shoppers frequently purchasing via the internet also rose 6% since thebeginning of the year.

The number of listed French webshops increased by 15% year-on-year to 147,200, with 19,200 newwebsites created in one year, and is expected to rise further to 160,000 by the end of this year.This trend has been driven by the number of online shoppers growing 5% during the second quarter of2014, with more than 34 million internet users making their purchases online during that period,which has added nearly 1.5 million online shoppers in one year. Over the last nine years, thenumber of online shoppers in France has nearly tripled.

Fevad managing director Marc Lolivier commented: “E-commerce is opening up and expanding to allproduct categories and services. The fashion industry is no exception to the rule, attracting 7million internet users each month who visit one or several top websites of fashion retailers.”

The market share of online sales in overall retail sales in France continues to rise by about 1%each year, boosted by the increasing number of shoppers and purchasing frequency. In 2013, itsshare reached 8% of French retail sales, excluding groceries.

France’s leading e-retailers saw 3% revenue growth year-on-year during the second quarter,according to the ‘iCE sites Fevad panel 40’, which measures the sales of the 40 top websites,accounting for about 30% of the overall market. This was despite a 0.1% decline in retailconsumption of industrial products (excluding automotive) in France during the second quarter ofthis year, according to Banque de France.

In contrast, e-retailers selling consumer products (including marketplaces) continued solidyear-on-year during the quarter with 7%. At the same time, e-retail sites selling to professionals(B2B) also saw their sales increase 8% over the same period.

However, online sales from the travel sector within the iCE panel remain low with a decline of1% as the number of bookings keeps falling. Despite the increasing number of online shoppers in thetourism sector (62% vs 59% in 2013), the consumption patterns of e-travelling are evolving, withthe average shopping basket value decreasing and the trend going towards “depackaging”, in favourof low cost and “collaborative consumption”.

Marketplaces continue to play an important role for the activity of certain panel websites, ofwhich the sales are not calculated in the iCE 40. The index measuring sales volumes of themarketplaces (iPM) continued its strong growth with a 36% increase during the second quarter ofthis year, compared to the same period in 2013. The transactions on the market places exceeded 20%of the sales generated by the hosting websites in the second quarter of 2014, with the sharedoubling in two years.

Mobile commerce remains a dynamic growth factor in France. The iCM panel (mobile commerceindex), which measures sales from mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, mobile websites and apps),soared by 52% during the second quarter. Sales via mobile phones and tablets represent 14% of therevenues generated from the websites which make part of the iCM, up from 10% in the second quarterof 2013.