Despite the challenging economy, European online retail sales grew 18% in 2010, and will grow 13% in 2011, reaching €92 billion, with the UK leading the pack, according to a new report.
The new five year forecast from Forrester Research attributed the expected growth to new online buyers (57% of adults now shop online) and higher spend per capita on the demand side.
From 2010-2015, EU online retail is expected to grow at a 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and 68% of the online population will have made a purchase on the web.
“But, the European North/South geographic behavior divide will continue to wide,” notes Forrester Analyst Andrea Carini in his new blog post. “Northern European countries like the Netherlands, the UK, and Sweden will see 80% or more of their online population buying online while southern countries like Italy, Spain, or Greece won’t reach 50%.”
The UK will continue to lead online sales—72% of the online population shopped the web in 2010, amounting to €30 billion, a €5 billion increase from 2009.
In 2015, the online retail market will capture 11.5% of overall non-travel retail sales. What’s driving this growth?
In part it’s due to the strength of online grocery sales, and retailers, such as Uniqlo, incorporating new business models that create buzz and shore up service offerings.
In addition to the “European Online Retail Forecast, 2010-2015”, Forrester also announces today its “US Online Retail Forecast, 2010-2015”.
www.forrester.com