According to Eurostat data, 58.1 percent of all consumers in the European Union made a recent purchase online last year. E-commerce is most established in the Netherlands and least in Bulgaria. In many parts of Southeast Europe, adoption remains below 35 percent.
Eurostat literally mapped the share of the population using e-commerce not only for EU member countries, but also for several countries outside the Union. Only Iceland, North Macedonia and the United Kingdom are missing from the overview. The study surveyed residents aged 16 to 74 and asked if they had purchased a product or service online in the three months prior to the survey.
The Netherlands leads
The Netherlands leads with a share of 84.2 percent. A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has already revealed that e-commerce is nowhere as established as in the Netherlands. In all twelve provinces of the country, which boasts 100,000 online stores, the adoption rate exceeds 80 percent according to Eurostat data, with Utrecht leading the way nationally (87.8 percent).
Top 5 countries with online shopping in Europe
The Netherlands is followed, albeit by some distance, by Ireland (80.5 percent) and Sweden (80.2 percent), with Denmark and Luxembourg completing the top 5. In Germany (67.5 percent) and France (65.8 percent) roughly two out of three consumers shop online.
Two out of three French and Germans shop online.
Further south, penetration is lower, with 55.9 percent in Spain and only 39.2 percent in Italy. Bulgaria is the lowest of all EU member states at 26.9 percent, while candidate country Albania is even further behind at just 16.3 percent.
Northern Europe vs. southern europe
The Eurostat map clearly shows that e-commerce is much more rooted in northern Europe than in the south. In the Southeast in particular, adoption lags behind.
Growth opportunities
In large parts of southern Europe, online shopping is not yet widespread, but its adoption is steadily increasing. This presents opportunities for internationally oriented online retailers.
