The percentage of Europeans who shop online has almost doubled in ten years, surging from 29.7 percent in 2007 to 55 percent this year. Levels of trust in e-commerce have increased 12 percentage points for purchases from retailers located in the same country and 21 percentage points for purchases from other EU member states.

Online shopping contributes 9% of the total retail sales in Europe. More than 18 million internet users in northern Europe shop online and numbers are growing in central and eastern Europe. In the UK, Denmark, and Germany, 80% of the population shop online. In Romania, online sales revenue increased 38% this year and the markets in Slovakia and Estonia grew 35%. Cross-border transactions have become more and more popular with Luxembourg, Russia and Switzerland topping the list of cross-border shopping destinations.

According to a report conducted by Ecommerce Europe, Eurocommerce and the Ecommerce Foundation, the European ecommerce turnover this year is forecast to reach over 600 billion euros, a growth rate of nearly 14%.  The percentage of companies with more than 10 employees that have a website grew from 67% in 2010 to 77% in 2016.

In recent years, online retailers have improved their transaction and delivery services, provided multiple options for customers and adopted clear policies on exchanges and returns. But many are still reluctant to expand their online activities and continue to have concerns about selling online to consumers in other EU countries. Such concerns are mainly linked to a higher risk of fraud and non-payment in cross-border sales, different tax regulations, different national contract laws and different consumer protection rules.