E-commerce business is booming for online retailers in France. During the second quarter of 2013 French consumers made €12.2 billion of online purchases, up 16% from the previous year.
In the same study, released by the Federation of E-commerce and Distance Selling (Fevad), tech devices and clothing grew by 7% and 13% respectively, whereas consumer products contributed just two percentage points to the overall growth of e-commerce in the first half of the year.
The number of French consumers buying products online rose by 3% during the second quarter. Yet it is the choice of digital retailers available to these shoppers that has flourished more, with commercial sites increasing by 17%.
Throughout the same three-month period, 5000 new commercial sites were created. The total now stands at 128,000 and by the end of the year there could be as many as 135,000 active sites in France.
Average Basket Value Closes in on €100 Mark
Fevad reports that the average online basket value in France is now €87, which is the figure’s first rise since the start of a 24-month decline. Across the whole quarter, 5.5 million in the country have made an online purchase and spent €476 on average, up €23 year-on-year.
As for mobile, its share of purchases has doubled over the past year, so it comes as no surprise that sales on this channel are growing two times faster than they did on the desktop in the early naughties.
Mobile’s big gains in France don’t stop there. Fevad predicts that internet turnover in 2013 could be as much as six times what it was in the whole of 2011.