Europe More Comfortable With Online Shopping

The world is on the upswing with online shopping, and it's clear that customers are enjoying the ease of it. Most of the time, the US is predominately in the news about online shopping growth, but now Europe is in the spotlight and customers there are wanting more.

It appears 53% of consumers in Europe bought something online in 2015. EU statistic agency Eurostat performed the study on online shopping there, showing that e-commerce is increasing in Europe. The percentage represents a high-water mark and exceeds the European Commission's Digital Agenda goals for technology adoption in the region. In the article by Internet Retailer, it mentioned specifically that the proportion of consumers age 16-74 who made a purchase online within the 12 months prior to the survey stood at 53% in 2015, compared with 43% in a 2012 report. Therefore, online shopping has increased by 10% in three years there.

The survey also found that 81% of individuals in the target age group in the 28-country European Union used the Internet in the 12 months prior to a new survey, and 65% of those regular Internet users bought or ordered goods or services for private use. This is an increase of 15% since 2007. Also, Eurostat found that 30% of European online shoppers purchased goods or services from sellers in other EU countries, which is up from 25% in a 2012. Lastly, 18% of shoppers bought from sellers outside the EU, compared to 13% three years earlier.

There use to be only a small percentage of shoppers being comfortable with making purchases online. One of the barriers to get past for shoppers was with the protection of secure information, which tech advancements has worked optimally to the point of even implementing high security resulting in trusted retail sources. People are more and more confident with the technology in desktops, as well as mobile devices, to conduct online buying. When this is coupled with the attractiveness of discounts and sales by e-retailers, online shopping becomes more common place in the way we do business now more than ever.

Another plus that retailers have added to make online shopping more comfortable is the service offering of same-day delivery. What first began as a trend, is now a huge competitive advantage to get the edge online that retailers are looking for. Amazon, for example, has rolled out same-day delivery in multiple major US cities in the US, including San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth, Indianapolis, New York, Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle-Tacoma, Washington DC, Tampa Bay, and Atlanta. It has also made big investments into establishing itself in England.

Same-day delivery is playing a big role in being able to offer another dimension to the comfort of shopping online. The service is expected to reach $987 million by 2019, as well as online shopping to climb to $500 billion by 2018. A Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express is a viable option for retailers to partner with to get their same-day delivery program off the ground. The Los Angeles Courier has a national footprint that allows e-retailers and brick-and-mortar stores to accomplish implementing the service fast. Since more people are utilizing online shopping in the US, Europe, England, and China, same-day delivery growth is sure to follow, even worldwide.

Reference: 1.22.16, Internet Retailer, Bill Briggs, Europeans grow more comfortable shopping online