E-commerce sales in France grew by 15% during the third quarter of this year continuing this year’s double-digit growth and online Christmas sales are also expected to increase similarly by 13%, according to the latest figures from the country's e-commerce association Fevad.
During July-September 2015, French online sales increased by 15% to reach €15.5 billion, after growth of 14% and 16% in the first two quarters of this year. Fevad expects e-commerce sales in France to reach €65 billion this year in total, surpassing the initial forecast of €62.4 billion.
Q3 growth was boosted by the strong increase of 20% in the number of transactions which almost hit the 200 million mark. The average spend per purchase fell 4% to €78 but this decrease was offset by the increase in the number of online purchases per shopper rising to 7.4 during the last quarter. The average spending per shopper thus increased to €577, up from €491 in Q3 2014.
This increase in purchasing frequency was boosted by the creation of new websites. The number of listed French webshops continued to increase dynamically by 15% to 178,500 in total.
According to the iCE 40 index, which measures the top 40 e-commerce websites in France, the leading websites increased their combined sales strongly by 12% during the third quarter, up from 9% in Q3 2014. The main growth drivers were the sectors of fashion, decoration, sports and garden. Sales to professionals (B2B) within the iCE 40 index also recorded a strong increase of 12% during the third quarter, up from 8% in Q3 2014.
Marketplaces continue to play an important role for the activity of certain panel websites, of which the sales are not calculated in the iCE 40. The index measuring sales volumes of the marketplaces (iPM) continued its strong growth reaching 45% in Q3 2015, with the transactions on the marketplaces currently representing 27% of the sales generated by the hosting websites. In three years, sales generated through market places have quadrupled.
Mobile commerce also remains a dynamic growth factor in France. The iCM panel (mobile commerce index), which measures sales from mobile devices (smartphones and tablets), soared by 39% during the third quarter of 2015, compared to the same period last year. Sales via mobile phones and tablets now represent 19% of revenues generated from the websites which make part of the iCM. This corresponds to an increase of 4%, compared to a year ago.
Regarding peak season, Fevad’s Christmas survey shows that 30 million French internet users plan to purchase their Christmas gift online, which represents 68% of all the internet users surveyed. This year, online buyers plan to spend €199 on average for their Christmas purchases online compared to €174 last year, which equals a 14% increase.
Fevad managing director Marc Lolivier said: “The online shoppers will spend 58% of their total Christmas budget online which means a promising Christmas.”
In terms of products, 52% of the cyber buyers surveyed plan to buy cultural products for Christmas such as DVDs, CDs or books, with 45% favouring games and toys, 36% preferring high-tech products while 32% plan to buy clothes, shoes and accessories, a 4% increase on last year.
While most of the shoppers prefer to make their Christmas purchases via their PCs, 37% of smartphone owners plan to prepare their purchases from their smartphones and 56% of tablet owners via their tablets. Bertrand Krug, Médiamétrie/NetRatings director, said: “10% of mobile phone users think of buying their Christmas gifts online, a 4% increase on 2014. As for the tablet, 22% of the tablet users plan to use their tablets for their Christmas purchases.”
In terms of deliveries, 81% of French online shoppers still prefer their gifts to be delivered to their homes while 67% are willing to pick up their orders from a parcel shop – a 5% increase on last year. The third preferred delivery method is picking up items ordered online from a store, cited by 32% of the respondents. Delivery to family members is gaining ground, with 13% of online shoppers using it, a 4% increase on last year.
The satisfaction level of cyber buyers with their purchases during the last six months remains very high with 98%, the same figure as last year.
