Fevad, Ecommerce Europe’s French national association, published its 2021 annual report on the state of the e-commerce market, presenting the key figures in France for the year 2020.
The report provides an analysis on the impact of the COVID-19 health crisis that has led millions of consumers to turn to e-commerce and many companies (traders, artisans, producers) to develop or strengthen their online offer. The findings highlight the role of economic and social shock absorber played by e-commerce throughout this year.
In particular, the study includes data on the status of e-commerce in France compared to EU and non-EU countries, the evolution of the market (e.g., turnover and number of e-buyers), the evolution of consumers’ habits (e.g., payment and delivery methods) and the contribution of e-commerce to employment and the digitalisation of the local retail sector. Moreover, the report gives insights on the new environmental challenges, such as corporate social responsibility and new consumer expectations in terms of sustainable and ethical online shopping.
Overall, the outcomes shows that the French e-commerce sector managed to maintain a positive balance sheet with annual growth of 8.5% compared to 11.7% in 2019. However, the development has not been homogeneous across all products. On the one hand, sales of goods accelerated sharply, while, on the other hand, services were hit hard by the sharp drop in travel and leisure sales online. Other highlights included the increase in online purchases by the French and the growth of online sales by physical stores.
For more details, we invite you to download the 2021 key figures brochure free of charge in French or in English.
