Concentration in European online sales

The market research company Forrester Research estimates that the e-commerce market in the 45 countries of Europe has a volume of € 232 bn. This equates to an increase of 16 per cent on the previous year. Market researchers are seeing two different markets on the continent: the well-developed online market in many countries of the European Union, and on the other hand faster-growing online sales in countries like Russia and in southern Europe. The list of the top 500 online retailers in Europe compiled by the Internet Retailer magazine includes 26 companies selling DIY and hardware products. A growing concentration is emerging, with the 100 biggest online stores accounting for 80 per cent of sales by the top 500. The ten biggest outfits alone are reponsible for 37 per cent of sales.You’ll find a detailed report on European e-commerce in our DIYglobal Plus section (see below: Other articles on this topic).