E-Commerce: will the rest of Europe follow?
When it comes to online shopping, the FMCG industry is still in its infancy. With the exceptions of South Korea (9% share), UK (5%), France (3.5%) and China (2%), no other market has bridged the 1% share threshold. However, the success story of Drive in France, news about amazon entering FMCG and more retailers contemplating or launching their own online store, a faster increase in other European markets seems likely.
Some interesting observations with respect to online buying:
- FMCG online penetration is below 10% in most countries (versus 25% in the UK and France), which points to a shortage of options
- When people buy online, their baskets tend to be three to five times bigger than their offline baskets.
- Where online is low, retailers seem to focus on manufacturer brands. This isn’t much relief for manufacturers because Private Label shares online are similar or even higher than offline once the channel is established.
