On 4 February 2021, an important press conference was held by the FEVAD (Federation of E-commerce and Distance Selling). The aim of this annual event is to take stock of e-commerce in France over the previous year, in this case 2020.
It is also an opportunity to look back at the key events for this sector, take stock of the market and decipher the trends that will emerge in 2021. In this article, we will summarise the key figures presented at this conference.
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French e-commerce: a market worth €112 billion
The e-commerce sector (products and services), which generated €112 billion in revenue in 2020, grew by 8.51% compared to 2019. This growth is due to the current health situation and the lockdown in France, which has drastically accelerated the digitalisation of retailers and changed the purchasing and behaviour of French consumers. With the closure of so-called «non-essential» shops, online sales have emerged as the only alternative for generating income. The French e-commerce market has 17,400 more websites than last year.
17,400 additional online sales sites in 2020 compared to 2019. #ecommerceFrance pic.twitter.com/QVh2WQQqDt
— FEVAD (@FevadActu) 4 February 2021
The rise of e-commerce is also affecting online sales on marketplaces, which have been able to offer their services to many microbusinesses and SMEs and limit the decline in their sales. On average in 2020, marketplaces grew by 27%, twice as fast as in 2019.
Strong growth in product sales
The most dynamic sectors are:
These sectors were all boosted by the health crisis and, in particular, by two restrictions which, on the one hand, led French consumers to equip themselves for teleworking (furniture, decoration, technical products) and, on the other hand, to postpone their holiday shopping (Black Friday, Christmas, holidays, etc.) online. The acceleration in sales was particularly pronounced in the last quarter of 2020. The closure of shops and so-called non-essential departments during the second wave led to a sharp rise in sales in November, which continued despite the reopening of shops in December.
As a sign of this change, the average basket size has increased slightly after several years of decline. It rose from €59 in 2019 to €61 on average.
However, these results must be viewed in context, because while product sales increased by an average of 32%, service sales decreased by 10%. These results can be explained in particular by the sharp decline (47%) in leisure and tourism activities.
New purchasing behaviours
The year 2020 changed the habits of the French. The two restrictions mentioned above and fears related to COVID-19 led them to order more products online. The food sector naturally experienced strong growth, particularly during the early days of lockdown, due to the boom in drive-through services offered by major retailers and home deliveries. This trend looks set to continue in 2021.
But this is not the only sector to benefit from this craze for takeaway sales; Click and Collect at points of sale, often promoted by retailers during lockdown, attracted more than 4 out of 10 online shoppers this year (41% more than in 2019), although home delivery is preferred by 85% of internet users.
Local businesses have managed to digitise quickly and have benefited from the support of the French public. In fact, nearly a quarter of online shoppers (25.71%) placed orders with their local shops to support them.
Conclusion
We will conclude this article with the words of Marc LOLIVIER, General Delegate of FEVAD, who summarises the new trends in e-commerce:
«The year 2020, marked by the health crisis, profoundly changed the shopping habits of millions of French people. These unprecedented conditions led them to adapt to travel restrictions and the closure of many physical shops. The internet enabled them to continue to buy food, equipment, training and entertainment while complying with the health protection measures in force. Some of these habits are likely to become permanent and are creating new expectations among consumers, such as having online access to their local shops, for example.»
Marc Lolivier
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