#CBES17

The Current State of Cross-border E-commerce in Europe

Dr. Jesse Weltevreden, Sjoukje Goldman MSc, Julia Keuter BBA

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33 _________________________________________________
Source: Blendle.com
 Cross-border e-commerce, is defined as
purchasing from the website of an online shop
situated in another country and jurisdiction
(Spierings & Van der Velde, 2008)

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Amazon’s Global Presence

_________________________________________________
Source: Amazon Investor Relations (2015)

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Rocket Internet’s International Expansion in Fashion, Food delivery & GM

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Source: Rocket Internet (2015)

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Alibaba’s European Ambitions

…our top priority is to…help European brands,

retailers… understand the opportunities China
offers and how Alibaba can help them access this
market

Michael Evans, president of Alibaba Group

Source: Business Wire (2015)

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Global cross-border B2C e-commerce forecast

994
826
676
530
x Billion $

400
304

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Cross- border Domestic

_________________________________________________
Source: Accenture/AliResearch, 2015

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The State of Cross-border E-commerce in Europe

1. Market opportunities (consumer insights)

2. Strategy and Success (retail insights)

3. Netherlands versus Neighbouring countries (retail

insights)

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Study area:
EU28
+ Iceland, Norway & Switzerland

Research objects:
Companies in b2c e-commerce
Online shops selling products
Online shops with headquarter in the study area

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Data collection
1. Web scraping to acquire lists of online shops per country:
67,500 online shops

2. Web visitor data from SimilarWeb to estimate the number of cross-

border Web visitors per online shop

3. Content analysis among 10,000 online shops to determine their cross-

border e-commerce strategy (double blind coding by 75 student assistants,
all native speakers)

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Market opportunities
Consumer data

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 Cross-border spending of Total online spending within EU (in %)

Top 4 highest ↑ Top 4 lowest ↓

1. Malta 1. Germany
2. Luxembourg 2. The Netherlands
3. Ireland 3. Czech Republic
4. Cyprus 4. Poland

Less than 20 percent 30 to 40 percent 50 percent or more

20 to 30 percent 40 to 50 percent _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________ Source: GfK Belgium (2015)
* Figures (EU28) for tangible goods and services.
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 Cross-border intra-EU versus Total EU Online Market Value
531
Top 10 EU countries with largest intra-EU
cross-border market value
472
1. Germany
2. United Kingdom
3. Italy
116

126

510
174 4. France
768
739 1.630
5. Spain
6. Austria
3.651
4.054
1.625
439
223
398

3.222
1.712

125
263 7. Poland
221 799

3.288 8. Belgium
297

445
2.444
598
9. Romania
95
10. Ireland
99

Total Online Market Value Cross-border intra-EU Online Market Value _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________ Source: GfK Belgium (2015)
* Figures (EU28) in million euro’s for tangible goods and services.
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 European consumers’ ability to use languages comfortably for
online shopping and browsing
3%
English* 64%
13%
Native language (excl. English,
49%
German & French)
46%
German* 25%

French* 22%
37%

Other non-native language 11%

Will use automatic translation when

11%
needed

0% 50% 100% 1 language 2 languages 3 languages 4 or more languages

_________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
* Including native speakers. Source: GfK Belgium (2015)

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Consumers: most important concerns when shopping online
domestically and in other EU countries

Domestic Cross-border intra-EU

1. Misuse of personal data 1. High delivery costs
2. Wrong or damaged products 2. High return shipping costs
3. Theft of payment card details 3. Difficult to solve problems if
something goes wrong
4. Long delivery times
4. Difficult to replace/repair
faulty products
5. Difficult to return products/ 5. Difficult to replace/repair
getting reimbursed faulty products

_________________________________________________
Source: GfK Belgium (2015)

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Strategy and Success

Retail data

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 Average share of cross-border Web visitors per country (in %)
Luxembourg
Austria
United Kingdom
Ireland
Cyprus
Belgium
Switzerland
Malta
Germany
Spain
Estonia
Portugal
Croatia

European average:
France
Latvia
Lithuania
Iceland

23,6%
Slovakia
Netherlands 13%
Sweden
Denmark
Romania
Norway
Slovenia
Italy
Czech Republic
Poland
Bulgaria
Hungary
Finland
Greece
Less than 10 percent 15 to 20 percent 30 percent or more 0% 25% 50%

10 to 15 percent 20 to 30 percent
_________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
Figures (EU28 + Iceland, Norway & Switzerland) are weighted by the size of national e-commerce markets (based on 2014 figures of E-commerce Source: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, based on SimilarWeb data
Europe) and individual country figures by the weighted average distribution of Web visitor size classes of online shops in the 31 European countries
(N=67,372 online shops).
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 3 Types of online shops compared in Europe*
1. Online shops with 2. Online shops with 3. Online shops with country-
a single website country-specific websites specific pages (and websites)

Examples:

Number of online
shops (in %):

97% 2,3% 0,5%

Average monthly
Web visitors**:
12,500 268,500 838,500

Cross-border Web
visitors share (in %):
23% 54% 64%
_________________________________________________
* Figures (EU28 + Iceland, Norway & Switzerland) are weighted by the size of national e-commerce markets (based on 2014 figures of E-commerce
Europe) (N=67,372 online shops).
** To correct for outliers, a 5% trimmed mean was used to calculate the average monthly Web visitors per type of only shop (figures are rounded on
500 visitors).
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Zalando’s Localization Strategy

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Source: Zalando (2014)

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 Average share of online shops* with direct international ordering (per country**)

European averages: Deliver world wide 46%

Purely domestic shipment: 35%

Deliver to countries
International shipment after in and outside Europe 9%
(but not world wide)
contact by e-mail or phone: 5%
Deliver only to
countries in Europe 44%
Direct international ordering: 60%
Deliver only to
countries outside
1%
Less than 15 percent 30 to 50 percent 70 percent or more
Europe
15 to 30 percent 50 to 70 percent
_________________________________________________
* Figures only include online shops with a single website. _________________________________________________
** Figures (EU28 + Iceland, Norway & Switzerland) are weighted by the size of national e-commerce markets (based on 2014 figures of E-commerce Source: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
Europe) and individual country figures by the weighted average distribution of Web visitor size classes of online shops in the 31 European countries
(N=8,570 online shops).
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 Direct international ordering and cross-border Web visitor share by sector
Direct international ordering Cross-border Web visitor share
Fashion, Shoes & Accessories 78% Books, Films, Music & Office suppplies 28%

Sports, Outdoor equipment, Toys & Hobby

71% Cosmetics & Healthcare products 26%
goods

Cosmetics & Healthcare products Mixed merchandise

Mixed merchandise 66% Fashion, Shoes & Accessories 23%

Books, Films, Music & Office suppplies Food/Near food

Sports, Outdoor equipment, Toys & Hobby

Food/Near food
goods

Electronics & computer hardware Electronics & computer hardware

Household goods, DIY, Flowers & Pets 50% Household goods, DIY, Flowers & Pets 16%

Other products Other products

0% 100% 0% 100%
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* Figures (EU28 + Iceland, Norway & Switzerland) only include online shops with a single website with direct international ordering and are weighted _________________________________________________
by the size of national e-commerce markets (based on 2014 figures of E-commerce Europe) and individual country figures by the weighted average Source: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
distribution of Web visitor size classes of online shops in the 31 European countries (N=4,040 online shops). 22
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 Relationship between cross-border Web visitors of online shops and
cross-border buyers per country
75%
Share of cross-border Web visitors per country

50%
Luxembourg

Cyprus Austria
In countries with a high share of cross-border buyers online
25%

Romania
shops also have relatively
Spain
Estonia many
Iceland

Poland
cross-border
Netherlands Web visitors.

0%
0% 25% 50% 75%

Percentage of cross-border buyers per country

_________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
Individual country figures are weighted by the weighted average distribution of Web visitor size classes of online shops in the 31 European countries
Source: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, based on data from SimilarWeb
(N=67,372 online shops).
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23 and Eurostat
 Towards a mature cross-border e-commerce market in Europe
High
Austria
Share of cross-border Web visitors

United Kingdom
Cyprus
Share of cross-border Web visitors Belgium

Potentials Going in the right direction

Malta
Spain Germany
Croatia
France

Slovakia
Romania
Netherlands
Norway
Bulgaria Slovenia Czech Republic

Long way to go Greece

Ambitious, but still relatively
unsuccessful
Low High
0% 50% 100%
Share of online retailers engaging in cross-border e-commerce

Share of online retailers engaging in cross-border e-commerce

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* Figures only include online shops with a single website. _________________________________________________
** Figures (EU28 + Iceland, Norway & Switzerland) are weighted by the size of national e-commerce markets (based on 2014 figures of E-commerce Source: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
Europe) and individual country figures by the weighted average distribution of Web visitor size classes of online shops in the 31 European countries
(N=8,570 online shops).
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Netherlands versus Neighbouring countries

Retail data

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Comparing:
• Crossborder Web visitors
• Crossborder e-commerce
• International shipment
• Language
• Currencies
• Info for foreign customers
• Trust marks

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Cross-border Web visitors

33% 31% 23% 20% 13%

Cross border Web visitors Domestic Web visitors

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Source: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
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 Average share of Web visitors per country of origin for Dutch online shops*

0,1%

0,0%

0,1%
0,0%
0,0%

0,1%
0,0%

0,0%
0,1%
0,0%
0,0%
0,1% 0,0%
0,7% 87,0% 0,2%
1,1%
6,2%
0,0% 0,0%
0,0% 0,1%
0,0%
0,1% 0,0%
0,0% 0,1% 0,0%
0,7%
0,0% 0,1%

0,2%
0,0% 0,0%
0,0% 0,0% 0,0%
0,0%
0,8% 0,0%
0,2%
0,1%
0,1%

0,0% 0,0%
0,0% 0,0%
0,0%
0
0,0%
0,0% 0,0%

0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0% 0,0% 0,0%

_________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
* Figures are weighted by the weighted average distribution of Web visitor size classes of Source: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, based on SimilarWeb data
online shops in the 31 European countries Weighted figures (N=370 online shops).
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 Cross-border Web visitors

Top 3 Top 3 Top 3 Top 3 Top 3

United States Netherlands Austria Belgium Belgium
India France Switzerland Switzerland Germany
France United Kingdom United States United States United States

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Source: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
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Cross-border e-commerce

88% 77% 75% 55% 54%

Cross-border selling Only after contact by e-mail/phone Domestic selling

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Source: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
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 International shipment*
World wide shipping
Cross-border positively
online shops mostaffects the to
often ship number of cross-border
neighbouring Web visitors
countries

Top 3 Top 3 Top 3 Top 3 Top 3

France Belgium Austria Belgium Netherlands
65%
Germany 49%
Luxembourg 28%
Netherlands 27%
Germany 17%
Luxembourg
Ireland Monaco Belgium France France

World wide Specific countries in and outside Europe Only to (specific) countries in Europe
_________________________________________________

* Only cross-border online shops are included _________________________________________________

Source: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
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 Translation & Currencies*
A language & currency switch positively affect the number of cross-border Web visitors

57% 3% 26% 6% 24% 1% 20% 8% 6% 22%

Language translation Currency switch

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* Only cross-border online shops are included _________________________________________________

Source: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
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 Top 4 Languages*
Offering the English, German & French language on the website positively influences
the number of cross-border Web visitors

Dutch Dutch German French English

French English 27% English English French

English German 14% French Spanish German

German French 10% Spanish Italian Italian

0% 100% 0% 100% 0% 100% 0% 100% 0% 100%

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* Only cross-border online shops are included _________________________________________________

Source: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
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Site visited September 2016
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Site visited September 2016
 Trust marks
A West-European phenomenon Use of Trust marks
66%

0% 100%

Use of international/foreign TMs

1%
Less than 5 percent 10 to 25 percent 50 or more
5 to 10 percent 25 to 50 percent No data 0% 100%
_________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
* Figures are weighted by the weighted average distribution of Web visitor size classes of Source: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
online shops in the 31 European countries Weighted figures (N=370 online shops). 36
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Info about delivery times for foreign customers
Long delivery times are a major concern among cross-border online shoppers

52% 38% 30% 25% 24%

For some countries For all countries

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Conclusions

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There is much variation among countries in Europe with regard to cross-border
market size, activity and success

Some countries are already moving in the right direction, but many still have
a long way to go

Dutch online shops are relatively unsuccessful in cross-border e-commerce

Many online shops do not fully exploit the possibilities to service international
customers

Developing a (highly localized) country-specific strategy is key in becoming

successful in cross-border e-commerce
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 Success factors for online shops with a single website
Offering international delivery and particularly delivery both in and
outside Europe has a significant impact on the cross-border Web visitor
share

Offering language translation has a significant impact on the cross-

border Web visitor share

Offering a currency switch has a significant impact on the cross-border

Web visitor share

Having (international) trust marks has no significant impact on the cross-

border Web visitors share

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* Figures only include online shops with a single website. _________________________________________________
** Figures (EU28 + Iceland, Norway & Switzerland) are weighted by the size of national e-commerce markets (based on 2014 figures of E-commerce Source: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
Europe) and individual country figures by the weighted average distribution of Web visitor size classes of online shops in the 31 European countries
(N=8,570 online shops).
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Contact us for more information

Dr. Jesse Weltevreden Sjoukje Goldman MSc Julia Keuter BBA

Professor Digital Commerce PhD Candidate Junior Researcher

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

+31 (0)6 10 15 32 68 +31 (0)6 21 15 78 08

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Thank you for your attention!

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