The European E-Commerce Landscape: Why the UK Leads the Pack
E-commerce has long been an inseparable part of today's life. It is growing and changing rapidly around the world. In 2020 European e-commerce was estimated at €757 billion . In recent years, the number and proportion of online shoppers within Europe has increased. This is partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic pushing consumers to shop online. The pandemic is having a noticeable impact on retail. Great Britain has the most advanced e-commerce market in Europe - according to Statista .
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1113005/market-size-of-e-commerce-in-europe-by-country/
With a turnover of over EUR 200 bln, the United Kingdom is the absolute e-commerce leader. 92% of UK online users ordered products or services online in 2020 - claims European E-Commerce Report 2021 . Also, 98% of UK residents have internet access. So, almost every Brit buys online.
But not only the Corona pandemic affected e-commerce in Great Britain. Another important impact was of course Brexit. But the UK has always been economically strong in European e-commerce.
What do UK users buy most often?
The most popular websites in the UK according to Statista :
- amazon.co.uk - any mass-market goods
- tesco.com - consumer goods
- argos.co.uk - consumer goods
- sainsburys.co.uk - second largest supermarket chain in the UK
- currys.co.uk - electronics and Domestic appliances.
- johnlewis.com - homeware, furniture and fashion
- ocado.com - online supermarket
- marksandspencer.com - clothing, homeware and groceries, mostly private labels.
- asda.com - supermarket chain
- morrisons.com - supermarket chain
Source: https://de.statista.com/prognosen/860947/top-online-shops-grossbritannien-ecommercedb
Thus, Amazon.co.uk leads the UK e-commerce market with net e-commerce sales of US$14,668 million in the UK in 2020, followed by Tesco.com with US$7,589 million. Argos.co.uk came third with sales of US$5,412 million.
Five most popular business sectors in the UK According to Ecommercedb :
- Fashion - this is the largest segment in the UK and accounts for 31% of e-commerce sales.
- Toys, hobbies & DIY take 19%.
- Electronics & Media - 18%.
- Grocery & Personal Care at 17%.
- Furniture & Appliances - 15%.
More than half of UK consumers bought fashion or sportswear online. In 2019, around 60 percent of UK consumers used online shopping for clothing or sporting goods, according to the Statista analysis .
Mobile Commerce in the UK
Smartphones are becoming increasingly popular for online shopping. In 2020, 43% of Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales were made via mobile devices.
In the third quarter of 2021, 72 percent of UK website visits were from smartphones and mobile devices were used for 67 per cent of online orders.
Which payment methods and shipping methods do consumers prefer?
There are the following factors that buyers consider when choosing a particular method:
- Safety of the place of purchase
- Amount to pay
- If interest-free monthly payments are offered
- If direct rebates and cash back are offered
- Pre-selection of a payment method
- Points will be credited for the next purchase
The most popular payment methods in the UK
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1041922/consumers-preferred-online-payment-methods-uk/
PayPal
PayPal is one of the most common payment methods. According to Statista estimates, there are over 66 million digital commerce users in the UK. And 49% of UK online shoppers use PayPal when shopping online.
Credit card or debit card
37% of shoppers prefer to pay for online purchases with a credit card or debit card.
Google Pay
Google Pay and two other payment methods are each popular with 3% of UK shoppers. Users can pay for their purchases on the websites or mobile apps. Many online companies ( e.g. Asos , Deliveroo , Ryanair ) already offer this option.
Amazon Pay
Amazon Payments is a service with which Amazon customer accounts can also be used with online shops that do not belong to Amazon, without the payment data having to be disclosed.
Apple Pay
Apple Pay is a mobile payment service that allows making contactless payments stored on iPhone, Apple Watch or Mac with compatible Touch IDs. It is also possible to use this service to pay on the web or in mobile applications.
The most popular shipping methods in Great Britain
The following criteria are considered relevant for online shoppers when choosing the shipping method:
- The price. The users choose the shipping service provider according to the delivery costs.
- Home or work delivery offered any time
- Home or work delivery in the prescribed time
- Speed of delivery
- Collection from the store
- Courier service
- Delivery to the collection point
Royal Mail
According to a 2019 study Royal Mail was the most popular parcel delivery service in the UK. More than half of the respondents, 52.7%, prefer this option. With 23,000 collection points, Royal Mail is the most popular shipping method for UK shoppers. In 2019, the parcel service distributed 1.22 billion parcels.
Hermes
Over 4,500 pickup points in the UK ensure Hermes such popularity.
Parcelforce Worldwide
Parcelforce Worldwide is a courier and logistics service based in the United Kingdom. Parcelforce Worldwide operates its collection and delivery services through a network of 54 "local" depots.
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1069943/uk-most-preferred-parcel-delivery-providers/
The most popular shop software in the United Kingdom
Source: https://trends.builtwith.com/shop/country/United-Kingdom
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a plugin for WordPress (aka "WP"), the most popular content management platform in the world. Many British online shops are based on this software. However, this shop system is more suitable for small and medium-sized companies. There are 185,000 WooCommerce websites in the UK - making WooCommerce the most popular software on the web. The list of all WooCommerce websites in UK is here .
Shopify
Shopify is a hosted ecommerce platform that can be used to create a custom ecommerce store. To use this software, one just has to pay a monthly fee and build a web store after that. It provides the store owners with multiple features like organizing the products, accepting payments, tracking orders and customizing the online store. This shop software is one of the most popular in the UK. Shopify Enterprise (Shopify Plus) is also common among large online shops. There are over 153,000 Shopify websites . The list of all Shopify websites in UK is here .
Ecwid
Ecwid is a cloud-based e-commerce platform from California. Founded in 2009, the company now looks after countless online shops in 175 countries and is particularly geared towards small businesses. There are over 97,000 Ecwid websites . The list of all Ecwid sites in the UK is here .
Wix Stores
Wix is an easy-to-use cloud-based platform for building HTML5 websites for e-commerce or personal use. The Wix website builder is known for its ease of use. There are over 95,000 websites in the UK today. The list of all Wix Stores websites in the UK is here .
Squarespace Add to Cart
Squarespace is a website system that makes it possible to create a website without any programming knowledge. It is very user-friendly and is often used by small business owners, solopreneurs and the self-employed.in the UK 68,000 websites based on this software The list of all Squarespace Add to Cart sites in the UK is here .
Magento
Magento is used in more than 240,000 stores worldwide and is present in more than 50 countries. This is the most popular shop software in the world and is used by over 14,700 Magento online shops in the UK. The list of all Magento websites in UK is here . Magento is also available in the enterprise version. This enterprise e-commerce software is suitable for very large companies.
Why Shopware is an excellent alternative to Magento and information on why we recommend migrating from Magento to Shopware can be found here .
If you want to create an online shop or change shop software, we, Kenner Soft Services, are ready to help you in this regard. Our e-commerce agency has already gained a lot of experience . We will be happy to advise you and prepare the best offer for you. We will help you create a perfect e-commerce website on Shopware and OXID.
Are you interested in a dedicated team?
Please contact our team, we will be glad to help you.
