Dibs Ecommerce Survey Europe 2010

8/6/2019 Dibs Ecommerce Survey Europe 2010

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DIBS

E-commErcE

SurvEyeurope 2010

D

I BS

PAYM

EN

T

SERVI C

ES


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2

A comprehensive study of European e-commerce a growth opportunity for merchants

Preface

DIBS Payment Services, the largest provider of Internet payment solutions in the Nordic countries, has

completed a comprehensive survey of e-commerce in the Nordic region and selected major European

countries.

The purpose of The DIBS E-Commerce Survey is to give a comprehensive overview of e-commerce by

providing both an up-to-the-minute account and a view of recent developments in Sweden, Denmark,

Norway, Finland, Spain, UK, Germany and France. The aim is to highlight e-commerce in all industries,

including e-commerce based on:

Online retailers who ship physical goods to their customers (e.g. books, clothes and electronics)

Online sales of non-physical products such as experiences and services (e.g. hotel booking and

theatre tickets).

Digital sales, distribution and consumption (e.g. online software or music).

DIBS E-Commerce Survey was launched in 2007, and has grown into an established tool for analysts and

companies who already have, or are about to launch, an e-commerce platform. This years version is

expanded to include some of the largest European markets. We have previously published the figures and

conclusions specifically for Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway, and this report provides an overview

of the e-commerce in all eight previously mentioned markets.

The survey was conducted in the third quarter of 2010 by research agency YouGov Zapera, and includes

interviews with over 8,000 Internet users in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain, UK, Germany and

France and 634 online retailers in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. All calculations are based on the

currency exchange rates of August 2, 2010.

About DIBSDIBS Payment Services is the Nordic regions leading supplier of functional, secure and innovative

payment services for commerce via Internet. DIBS manages on a daily basis transactions for more than 13000 customers. DIBS has offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Oslo and Copenhagen and is traded on the

First North marketplace with NASDAQ OMX as Certified Advisor. Please, visit www.dibs.se.

Copyright DIBS 2010. Reproduction of parts of this report is allowed with proper acknowledgement of

the source A Survey Conducted by YouGov Zapera for DIBS Payment Services. Commercial

exploitation of The DIBS E-Commerce Survey is not allowed. Berit Dobson, Marketing Manager, DIBS,

was the project manager of the survey.


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Executive summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

E-commerce is a huge market opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Powerful drivers for continued growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Finding the right payment methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Attracting customers across Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Multiple customer segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1. E-commerce is a powerful commercial force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2. Consumers drivers of e-commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3. Optimism for further growth of e-commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Optimism per country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Optimism per product category. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Merchants share the optimism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

4. Finding the right payment methods across Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Payment methods in Sweden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Payment methods in Norway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Payment methods in Finland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Payment methods in Denmark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Payment methods in the UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Payment methods in Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Payment methods in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Payment methods in France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Paying with the mobile phones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Reason to abandon a purchase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

5. E-commerce opportunities outside home-market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Rapid increase in cross border e-commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

6. To attract customers across Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

7. Consumer segmentation in Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Heavy spenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Young e-shoppers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

8. E-commerce by product category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

E-commerce per product category in Sweden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

E-commerce per product category in Norway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

E-commerce per product category in Finland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

E-commerce per product category in Denmark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

E-commerce per product category in the UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

E-commerce per product category in Spain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

E-commerce per product category in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

E-commerce per product category in France. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Content


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DIBS E-commerce Survey 2010 confirms that e-commerce is a major transformative force across Europe

and a driver of change in the commercial landscape.

In a period of economic uncertainty, e-commerce shows sustainable growth. Apart from driving growth

for many merchants (small and large, local and multinational), e-commerce has proven its ability to affect

business in other profound ways, such as:

Internationalizing shopping

Increasing the transparency for price and quality Enabling new buying patterns

Affecting the competitive landscape by extending the reach for merchants

Increasing the options for consumers

For the purpose of this report, e-commerce is primarily seen as an opportunity for merchants. By knowing

the customers and their online buying behaviour, e-merchants can tap into a significant growth market.

Following years of rapid growth, e-commerce is still only in its infancy, as both e-consumers and online

retailers have high expectations for the future. The survey concludes that, although e-commerce is

international in scope, there are major differences between the countries, for instance with regard to

payment methods. A successful e-merchant should take national differences into account and turn theminto advantages when pursuing or launching a Pan-European e-commerce strategy.

E-commerce is a huge market opportunityE-commerce is a well-established phenomenon across all consumer segments in all markets. Consumers

of all ages and incomes and from all regions fuel the migration towards increased online shopping. The

change in buying pattern is well established and in the last six months as many as 141 million persons aged

15 to 75, or 90% of all Internet users in the selected eight countries, have made online purchases.

Although it is still just a fraction of total consumption, the sheer size of the e-commerce market is

impressive. The total e-commerce market is estimated to be 178 billion EUR in the eight countries. Percapita consumption in Northern Europe is higher than in the larger European markets. The interval

stretches from on average 443 EUR per capita in Spain to 987 EUR per capita in Norway for the last six

months.

Powerful drivers for continued growth

European e-consumers shop online primarily to increase convenience in everyday life. This makes the

migration towards online shopping structural and set to continue. Following many years of growth, as

many as 78% of the consumers expect to maintain or increase their online spending over the next 12

months.

Executive summary


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Consumers are more optimistic in countries that already have a high per capita consumption. This

indicates that the migration to e-commerce is accelerating; once people have established the behaviour,

they continue to increase their e-commerce. The same is valid for e-merchants; once they have invested

in e-commerce they tend to increase the offering and marketing and expand their business. Basically there

is a snowball effect; once e-commerce builds momentum it gains speed.

The potential for further growth across Europe is large, both in terms of volume and number of

e-commerce transactions. The average consumer completes only slightly more than one online purchase

per month. Furthermore, e-commerce is still just a fraction of total household consumption.

Finding the right payment methods

European consumers use several different payments methods and consumers from different countries

vary with regards to payment methods and payment habits. In addition, the underlying payment

infrastructure differs between markets. Consumers opt for the perceived safest and easiest method and

the preferred payment method is closely related to e-consumer perceptions of security and convenience.

While a lot of the consumers have used payment cards, other payment options such as online bank

transfers, invoices and micropayment services are also fairly common. To avoid losing sales opportunities

it is critical for merchants to cater to very different preferences across Europe. For instance, in Denmark80% prefer to use debit/credit cards due to the unique position of Dankort, whereas over two thirds of

Swedish and Norwegian e-consumers prefer to pay by card or by online bank transfer. The situation is

markedly different in Finland, where only 19% use cards, but 45% prefer online bank transfer. The UK

consumers have a strong preference for using cards (58%), but as many as 23% of the consumers prefer

micropayment services. Spanish consumers prefer to pay by card (37%) and with cash on delivery (23%).

German consumers prefer invoices (27%) but micropayments are also very popular (26%), whereas cards

are preferred by only 20%. In France, cards have a completely dominant position, preferred by 59% but

micropayments are also popular.

The importance of the payment infrastructure manifests itself as the consumers tendency to avoidmerchants that lack the preferred payment method, and to cancel ongoing purchases if they do not find

the preferred payment method. A whopping 51% avoid e-merchants that lack their preferred payment

option. About one third of consumers have chosen to abandon an online purchase and the most

frequent reason for abandoning the check-out window is the lack of their preferred payment method. A

successful e-merchant should respond to this by offering relevant payment methods to its target groups.


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Attracting customers across EuropeE-commerce consumers share several traits across the markets. For instance, over a third of the European

consumers use price comparison sites to guide their purchases, making prices and quality more

transparent. Yet, the market is still guided by habits, and as many as 61% of the consumers begin to look in

shops they have used before. Search engines have established themselves at the centre of e-commerce,

guiding huge flows of transactions, and 58% of consumers usually use a search engine to find the shopping

opportunities they are looking for.

The survey indicates significant differences across the markets. Europe consists of many submarkets withwide differences not only in language and market size, but also in terms of cultural and social factors

affecting consumption and buying patterns. These differences should be taken into account when pursuing

pan-European e-commerce strategies.

Multiple customer segments

The share of female Internet users who have made online purchases (89%) is nearly at the same level as

male Internet users (90%) and both men and women conduct an average of 6.6 purchases per six months.

The attitude to e-commerce is fairly similar across genders in each country, with a few significant

differences in buying pattern. In all markets, men are more inclined to be price sensitive. Women, on the

other hand, prefer e-merchants that have been recommended by friends or have physical stores, and areless likely to use price comparison sites. In addition, men dominate the Electronics category while

women are clearly the largest consumers of Clothing and Household products.

A Heavy Spender is defined as a person who makes online purchases for more than a 1000 EUR per six

months. During the past six months, 27% of the e-consumers have made it to the heavy spender category.

The heavy spender group consists of 60% men. Europes most devoted heavy spenders are found in

Norway. One quarter of the population are heavy spenders, and together they account for three quarters

of the Norwegian e-commerce market.

Travel-related expenses generate about 20% of the e-commerce in the major European markets, and upto 47% of the market in the Nordic countries. The second largest category in nearly all markets is

electronics. France is the exception, where clothes and shoes is the second largest category. In the Nordic

countries and Germany, media and entertainment is the third largest category.

In all countries European citizens have a positive attitude towards paying taxes online (63%), but a peculiar

difference in national preferences is highlighted in the attitudes. In the UK (38%) and Germany (37%) a

major constituency says no, whereas only 8% in Finland are negative to paying taxes online.


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Throughout all countries, e-commerce is established as a convenient method to do shopping. People of all

ages and incomes are very accustomed to e-commerce, and the number of e-consumers is consistently

very high. A total of 141 million consumers (15-75 years old) are active e-shoppers in these countries.

This is 90% of all consumers.

In countries with high Internet penetration rates such as Denmark and Norway, a full 95% of people withaccess to Internet have engaged in e-shopping during last six months. Spain has lower Internet penetration

and only 77% of the Spanish online consumers made purchases on the Internet last six months. This

indicates that e-commerce is both a very widespread phenomenon and that it grows with Internet

maturity. As more people gain access to Internet an even larger share use it for online shopping.

The estimated average total spending per capita varies greatly across the region. The estimated numbers

show that a typical Norwegian e-shopper spends twice as much on average on e-commerce as a Spanish

e-shopper (987 EUR compared to 443 EUR per six-month period). Following Norway, Denmark has the

1. E-commerce is a powerfulcommercial force

0

20

40

60

80

100

Internet Users who have made

online purchases last six months

Swede

n

Norw

ayFin

land

Denm

ark UK Spain

Germ

anyFra

nce

%

94% 95%

89%

95%

90%

77%

92%

86%

0

200

400

600

800

1000

Average Consumption in Euro

Swede

n

Norw

ayFin

land

Denm

ark UK Spain

Germ

anyFra

nce

600

987

594

763

618

443

554

487


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second highest consumption of 763 EUR per active e-consumer during the last six months. British,

Swedish and Finnish consumers average around 600 EUR for the same period.

Based on Internet users online purchases of the past six months, annual e-commerce in the selected

countries is estimated to be around EUR 178 billion. The German market is the largest, followed by the

UK and thereafter France. The Nordic market is estimated to total around 23 billion EUR.

The 141 million active e-shoppers made on average 6.6 purchases within last six months. This is just above

one purchase per month. The most frequent shopping behaviour is seen in the UK and Germany with

nearly eight purchases within the last six months. In the same period the Spanish and Finnish consumers

made around five purchases. Men and women have very similar patterns; men make just marginally more

purchases. Younger people (1534 years old) have a more frequent pattern. They basically exhibit less

difference between their offline and online shopping behaviour, and as their disposable income increase

that will lead to increased e-commerce.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Total market in billion EUR

Swede

n

Norw

ayFin

land

Denm

ark UK Spain

Germ

anyFra

nce

7 64

6

48

20

56

32

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Average number of purchases

last six months

Swede

n

Norw

ayFin

land

Denm

ark UK Spain

Germ

anyFra

nce

%

6,26,5

5,2

6,9

7,8

4,8

7,7

6,1


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2. Consumers drivers of e-commerce

European e-consumers shop online because it is easy and it saves time (72%). This is the main motivation

in all eight countries. Less important, but still a major influence, is the possibility of finding lower prices

(63%). The third most frequently quoted reason for online shopping is that it can be carried out regardless

of opening hours. The fourth most quoted reason combines simplicity with cost saving; that it is easy to

compare products and prices. Considering all of these factors leads to the conclusion that e-commerce

has established itself primarily as a tool for increased convenience in everyday life.

Consumers from Germany, Sweden and Norway appreciate the possibility of comparing products and

prices slightly more than the others. They are also likely to use a price comparison site when shopping. This

indicates that e-commerce creates price transparency.

Consumers drivers to e-commerce per country

Sweden Norway Finland Denmark UK Spain Germany France

Lower prices 66% 65% 50% 67% 67% 55% 65% 66%

Saves time 76% 75% 72% 73% 70% 57% 76% 74%

Always open 60% 63% 54% 60% 59% 38% 70% 45%

Compare products/prices 59% 57% 52% 53% 54% 42% 64% 44%

Products I cant find elsewhere 39% 44% 39% 27% 32% 28% 36% 27%

Larger product range 36% 36% 26% 21% 30% 26% 40% 32%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Consumers drivers to e-commerce

Lower

prices Saves

timeAlways

open

Compareproducts

andprices

ProductsIcant

ndelsewhere

Largerproduct

range Other

reason

%

63%

72%

57%

53%

34%31%

5%


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Across Europe, consumers consider lower prices and decreased delivery costs the two main motivators

for increasing e-commerce. In third place is more secure payment options at 32%. Secure payment

options are specially demanded in the UK (39%), Germany (43%) and in Spain (45%). Nordic consumers

are less prone to see additional payment options as a requirement for increased e-commerce.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Factors that would increase

e-commerce consumers

Lowe

rpric

es

Great

erop

portu

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toret

urnpr

oduct

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More

secure

payme

ntme

thods

Larger

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Recom

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Cheap

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ivery

costs

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ctto

doe-

shoppi

ng

% 60%

29%

32%

22%

7%

50%

5%


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3. Optimism for further growthof e-commerce

Following years of rapid growth, consumers continue to expect to buy more online in the next twelve

months. Across the region, 78% expect to maintain or increase their online consumption. Only 10% of

consumers expect to decrease their online consumption.

Optimism per country

The Nordic consumers are more optimistic. In Sweden 91% of the consumers expect to maintain or

increase their spending, compared to Finland 87%, Denmark 85%, Norway 84%, Germany 76%, UK 73%,Spain 68% and France 61%. Only 5% of the Nordic consumers expect to decrease e-commerce, whereas

14% of Spanish and French consumers expect to buy less online next twelve months.

As stated earlier, a larger share of Internet users are active online shoppers in countries with high Internet

penetration. In addition, the more online shopping a consumer does, the more he or she expects to

increase it in the future. This is the snowball effect of online commerce, once it starts rolling it keeps

accelerating.

0

10

20

30

40

50

Expectations for further growth

Expect topurchase less

Expect topurchase the same

Expect topurchase more

%

10%

49%

29%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Consumers expectations

for next 12 months


%

Buy less The same Buy more


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Optimism per product categoryAcross Europe around 80% expect to increase purchases of computers. This is fairly consistent in all

countries. The same is valid for clothes and shoes online. That sector has good prospects for growth as

80% and 46% respectively expect to increase their expenditures in these categories. 62% of the

consumers expect to increase their travel expenses online. Norwegian and Danish consumers expect a

rapid increase, a full 78% of the Norwegian consumers expect to spend more on flight tickets within the

next twelve months. The travel sector is heading for continued growth, as major markets such as

Germany, Spain and France expect to increase travel expenses, although this should happen at a slower

pace than for the Nordic consumers.

Another sector that can expect fast growth is food. Close to 80% of the UK consumers expect to buy

more food online and over 40% expect to buy more alcohol online. All other countries except Norway

express high expectations for food and households products. Expectations for alcohol purchases online

varies, a third of the consumers in France, Sweden. Finland and Norway expect to increase it. Only 10% of

the Germans and 8% of the Danes expect to buy more alcohol online.

Merchants share the optimism

The Nordic merchants share the optimism of the consumers in the region. About 81% of Nordic online

merchants expect increased sales in the coming 12 months. Online retailers in Sweden and Norway havethe highest expectations; 90% of Swedish online merchants and 87% of Norwegian online merchants

expect to increase sales in the coming year. The corresponding figure for Danish online merchants is 70%.


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4. Finding the right paymentmethods across Europe

European consumers use several different payments methods and there are variations with regards to

preferred payment methods and actual payment habits. A successful e-merchant should respond to this

by offering relevant payment methods to its target groups.

While a lot of the consumers have used cards (72%), other payment options such as online bank transfers(38%), invoices (35%) and micropayment services (23%) are also fairly common.

Consumers opt for what they believe is the safest (62%) and easiest (50%) method and the preferred

payment method is closely related to e-consumer perceptions of security and convenience. Perceived

cost also weighs in (21%).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Payment methods

used last six months

Card

Bankt

ransfe

r

Invoic

e

Cash

ondelive

ry

Mobile

telep

hone

Microp

ayment

Instalm

ent

Other

meth

od

Dono

tknow

%

72%

38%35%

16%

6%

23%

5% 6%

2%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Reasons to choose

a payment method

Cheap

estmeth

od

ofpay

ment

Safest

meth

od

ofpay

ment

Onlyp

aymen

tmeth

od

availab

leto

me

Billed

atalat

er

point

intim

e

Possibili

tyton

ance

thepu

rchase Eas

iest

Othe

r

%

21%

62%

8%11%

4%

50%

4%


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On an accumulated level, cards are Europes preferred payment method (42%), but if we dig deeper into

the data very disperse patterns emerge. The countries vary greatly with regards to their preferred

payment methods.

Figure 1 Preferred payment methods in Sweden

Nearly two thirds of Swedish e-consumers prefer to pay by card or by online bank transfer (33% and 30%

respectively). Invoicing is also popular (28%). People with incomes between 0400,000 SEK per year are

one average slightly less likely to prefer using cards, while people with higher incomes than 400,000 SEK

are more likely to prefer them. 35% of consumers say that they would increase their online consumption

if additional secure payment methods were available.

0

10

20

30

40

50

Preferred payment method when

making a purchase on the Internet

Card

Bankin

gtran

sfer

Invoic

e

Cash

ondelive

ry

Mobile

telep

hone

Micro

payme

nt

Instalm

ent

Other

meth

od

Dono

tknow

%

42%

14%

9%

4%

1%

12%

4%

1% 1%

Payment methods in Sweden

{ Card

{ Internet banking transfer

{ Invoice

{ Cash on delivery

{ Mobile telephone

{ Micropayment services

{ Instalment payments

{ Other

33%

30%

28%

2%

4%


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Figure 2 Preferred payment in Norway

Norwegians clearly prefer to pay by debit/credit card (60%). 12% prefer invoices, 10% prefer

micropayments and 7% prefer to pay via online bank transfers. 23% of the consumers say that they would

increase their online consumption if additional secure payment methods were available.

Figure 3 Preferred payment in Finland

The situation is markedly different in Finland, where only 19% use debit/credit cards. Here online banktransfer payments are preferred by 45% of the consumers. Invoices are preferred by 22%. Of the

consumers that have cancelled an ongoing purchase, 47% abandoned the check-out window because the

e-merchant lacked their preferred method of payment. 25% of the consumers say that they would

increase their online consumption if additional secure payment methods were available.

Payment methods in Norway

{ Card


{ Invoice

{ Cash on delivery

{ Mobile telephone



{ Bank Access

60%

7%

12%

3%

10%

6%

Payment methods in Finland

{ Card


{ Invoice

{ Cash on delivery

{ Mobile telephone



{ Other

19%

45%

22%

5%

4%

3%


16/36

16


Figure 4 Preferred payment in Denmark

Denmark is without a doubt the country in which debit/credit card payment is most common, with 80%

preferring to use this method. This is largely due to the unique position of Dankort (a debit card issued by

all Danish banks); 61% prefer to pay using Dankort and 19% prefer other cards. Only 10% of Danish

e-consumers prefer online bank transfer payments and 3% by invoice. Only 15% of the consumers say

that they would increase their online consumption if additional secure payment methods were available.

Figure 5 Preferred payment in UK

The UK consumers have a strong preference for using cards (58%). The UK also stands out since as many

as 23% of the consumers prefer micropayment services such as PayPal. 39% of the consumers say that

they would increase their online consumption if additional secure payment methods were available.

Payment methods in Denmark

{ Dankort

{ Credit cards


{ Invoice

{ Cash on delivery

{ Mobile telephone


{ Other

61%

19%

10%

3%

1%3%

1%

Payment methods in the UK

{ Card


{ Invoice

{ Cash on delivery

{ Mobile telephone



{ Other

58%

5%

2%

2%

2%

23%

1% 4%


17/36

17


Figure 6 Preferred payment in Spain

The largest share of the Spanish consumers prefers to pay by card (37%). Spanish consumers distinguish

themselves from their European neighbours, by preferring to pay with cash on delivery (23%). 45% of the

consumers say that they would increase their online consumption if additional secure payment methods

were available.

Figure 7 Preferred payment in Germany

More than the others, German consumers prefer invoice payments (27%). Micropayments are also very

popular (26%), and cards are preferred by only 20%. Of the consumers that have cancelled an ongoing

purchase, 59% abandoned the check-out window because the e-merchant lacked their preferred method

of payment. 43% of the consumers say that they would increase their online consumption if additional

secure payment methods were available.

Payment methods in Spain

{ Card


{ Invoice

{ Cash on delivery

{ Mobile telephone



{ Other

37%

7%

3%

23%

3%

22%

1% 2%

Payment methods in Germany

{ Card


{ Invoice

{ Cash on delivery

{ Mobile telephone



{ Other

20%

12%

27%

7%

1%

26%

3% 1%


18/36

18


Figure 8 Preferred payment in France

In France, cards have a dominant position, preferred by 59%. Micropayments are also popular. 30% of the

consumers say that they would increase their online consumption if additional secure payment methods

were available.

Paying with the mobile phones

Only 5% of the consumers have used their mobile phones to pay for online shopping, ranging from 2%

in Germany to 9% in Sweden. About the same number of consumers state that mobile phones are thepreferred method to pay for online purchases. However, it is clear that consumers expect to radically

change the way they use their mobile phones e in the coming years.

Consumers predict that they will use their phones to buy both physical products such as clothes (68%)

and computers (73%) and digital services, such as plane tickets (53%) music (45%) and e-books (38%).

Payment methods in France

{ Card


{ Invoice

{ Cash on delivery

{ Mobile telephone



{ Other

59%

5%

4%

4%

19%

1% 2%

3%


19/36

19


Reason for abandoning a purchaseThe importance of offering the right payment method is emphasized by the consumers tendency to

cancel ongoing purchases if they do not find the preferred payment method.

A bout one third of the consumers have chosen to abandon an online purchase after having placed goods

in an electronic shopping cart. The most frequent reason for abandoning the check-out window is that the

lack of the consumers preferred payment method (41%). This is followed by uncertainty regarding terms

and conditions of the purchase (38%) and a too tiresome personal data registration process (30%).

About a quarter quote insufficient information on the product as a given reason. Lack of confidence in the

online merchant was also mentioned by about a fourth of the consumers. Technical problems with the

homepage (21%) and the payment process (21%) have also resulted in lost sales opportunities for

merchants.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Reason for abandoning a purchase

Lackof

conden

ce

Notyourpreferred

paymentmethod

Dataregistr

ationw

as

toomuch

ofabother

Uncertainaboutthe

purchase

conditio

ns

Insufcientinfo

rmatio

n

onproduct/service

Thepaym

entprocess

didnotwork

Proble

mswith

thewebsite

Nooptiontopersonally

collec

ttheprod

uct

%

24%

41%

30%

38%

26%

21% 21%

3%


20/36

20


5. E-commerce opportunitiesoutside home-market

E-commerce is international in its character and many consumers take advantage of opportunities outside

their home market. To that end, e-commerce is a change agent pushing for the integration of the

European single market. Cross-border commerce is an important opportunity for merchants, with great

potential as Internet maturity increases.

Across Europe, a third of the consumers have completed purchases on websites from outside their owncountry (39% of male and 29% of female consumers). In the heavy spender category, more than half of

the consumers (52%) have made purchases on foreign websites. Consequently, higher online

consumption is correlated with greater familiarity with e-commerce on foreign sites.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Consumers who used a foreign

e-commerce site last six months


%

33%

53%

43%

51%

19%

32%

15%

25%


21/36

21


The most important reason to shop abroad is to find lower prices (61%), and the second most important

driver is to find products that are not available in the home country (55%). Interlinked to that are

possibilities related to fluctuations in exchange rates and taxes. Of the Danes who have shopped abroad,15% claim that it was to take advantage of lower VAT. The most internationally minded consumers have

their domicile in the Nordic countries, with high Internet maturity and relatively smaller home markets. In

the UK and Germany fewer people shop abroad, probably due to the large domestic supply and

competition.

Rapid increase in cross border e-commerce

Both merchants and consumers fuel the trend. E-merchants are getting more international in their

outlook, and build brands that reach outside their home market. National brands expand internationally

via their online offering, and global brands (such as H&M) are rolling out their web shops internationally in

markets where they have a strong traditional presence. At the same time consumer confidence is on therise, regarding international consumer protection, delivery and payment methods.

Based on the Nordic countries, the aptitude to go abroad is rapidly increasing. Since DIBS E-Commerce

Survey 2009 (that only included Nordic countries), the share of consumers shopping abroad increased

from 25% to 33% of the Swedes, from 39% to 53% of the Norwegian from 32% to 43% of the Finnish and

from 34% to 51% of the Danes. This is a coherent and very rapid change in less than a year.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Consumers' drivers to

buy from foreign e-shops

Lowerpricesthan

domestice-shops

Lowerpricesthandomestic

highstreetshops

Productnotfound

indomestice-shops

Productnotfoundin

domestichighstreetshops

Productwillbeused

inthatcountry

Lowertax/VATOther

%

61%

28%

55%

29%

6%

10%

6%


22/36

22


6. To attract customers across Europe

E-commerce facilitates new consumer behaviour and provides new opportunities to merchants for

reaching their target groups. This is illustrated by the fact that 58% of consumers state that they usually use

a search engine to find the shopping opportunities. Consumers are nearly guided by search engines as

much as they are by habits. Frequent e-shoppers, i.e. consumers who make more than four purchases per

month, are even more likely to use a search engine (67%). Search engines have established themselves at

the centre of e-commerce guiding huge numbers of consumers. 61% of the consumers begin to look in

stores they have used before.

36% of the European consumers use price comparison sites. This behaviour is even more common

among men (41%) and frequent shoppers (44%), i.e. consumers who make more than one purchase per

month. In Sweden, price comparisons sites are nearly as important as search engines (54%), which

highlights the importance of being part of such comparisons. This trend has a strong effect on price

transparency and creates new niches. Only 16% of the Spanish consumers use a price comparison site.

Twice as many Europeans claim that they are affected by ads in traditional media (TV, Papers and Radio)

than the number of Europeans who say that they are affected by advertisements in online media. The vast

majority of the ad budgets are channelled through traditional media, so the impact of banner ads is

relatively high compared to total investments (based on what the consumers say affects them).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

How the consumers nd you

E-shop

sthatI

have

used

before

Webs

itesof

the

highs

treets

hopsI

like

Pricec

ompar

isonsite

Search

engine

Tipfro

mafriend

Viaab

anner

ad

Inform

ation

fromm

edia Ot

her

Dono

tknow

%

61%

30%

36%

58%

29%

7%

13%

7%

3%


23/36

23


When establishing a new e-shop, there are some major issues to consider. Over 63% of the consumers

avoid e-merchants that seem unreliable, and a whopping 51% avoid e-merchants that lack their preferred

payment option. A poorly designed website is also a significant faux pas for an e-merchant, and as many

as 47% of the consumers avoid shopping at sites they believe is bad. Swedish (65%), Danish (54%) andNorwegian (57%) consumers are very allergic to bad websites, whereas Spanish (33%) and French (40%)

consumers are more understanding and less likely to reject a website that they consider to be bad.

A critical task for e-merchants is to spread the word and to create a buzz. One third (34%) of the Swedish

consumers avoid an e-merchant that they do not recognize. Germans (28%), French (25%) and

Norwegian (21%) consumers are also picky in that regard.

A successful e-merchant reaches out with their brand, communicates trustworthiness, has a well designed

website and offers the right payment method. That is true for all countries.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

E-shops that consumers avoid

None

E-sho

pswh

ichIh

ave

notu

sedbefor

e

E-sho

pswit

hout

myprefe

rred

paym

entmeth

od

Intern

etsho

pswh

ich

Ihave

noth

eardo

f

Badwebs

ites

Seems

unreliab

le/

untrus

twort

hy

Intern

etsho

pstha

tare

not

linked

withhig

hstre

etsho

ps Other

%

6% 6%

51%

21%

47%

63%

7%4%


24/36

24


Europe consists of multiple markets. As traditional stores often define the markets geographically,

e-merchants are able to redefine their markets into niches based on other characteristics.

Heavy spendersFor the purpose of this study, a heavy spender is defined as a person who makes online purchases for

more than a 1000 EUR per six months. During the past six months, 17% of the e-consumers belong to

the heavy spender category.

Europes most devoted heavy spenders are to be found in Norway. One quarter of the population are

heavy spenders and together they account for three quarters of the Norwegian e-commerce market.

60% of the heavy spender group consists of men, most of whom are between 25 to 54 years old. They

make an average of nearly two purchases per month compared to just above one per month for all

e-consumers. Most heavy spenders make online purchases in order to save time and money, to easily

compare products and prices, and to avoid the limitations of opening hours. They are more motivated by

convenience and the possibility of comparing prices, and less motivated by price than other consumer

groups.

Gender

Men and women have very similar shopping behaviour across all of the European markets. In previous

DIBS E-Commerce Surveys, men were more frequent online buyers than women, but the most recent

survey reveals a clear trend towards increased buying activity by women. Men and women are now

equally likely to engage in e-commerce in all countries. The share of female Internet users who have made

online purchases (89%) is nearly at the same level as male Internet users (90%) and both men and women

7. Consumer segmentation in Europe

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80


%{ Heavy Spenders

{ Heavy Spenders share of market

16%

58%

75%

59%

65%62% 63%

60% 61%

27%

16%

20%

14%11%

16%

12%


25/36

25


make 6.6 purchases on average per six months. In most countries men and women make about the same

number of purchases. In the UK and Spain, men are more frequent buyers than women, in contrast to

Germany, where women lead with a small margin.

In each country, the attitude towards e-commerce is fairly similar across genders with a few significant

differences in buying pattern. In all markets, men are more inclined to be price sensitive. Women, on the

other hand, prefer e-merchants that have been recommended by friends or have physical stores and are

less likely to use price comparison sites. By far and large, men and women purchase the same products

and services on the Internet. However, while men dominate the Electronics category, women areclearly the largest consumers of Clothing and Household products. Men are still overrepresented

among heavy spenders.

Young e-shoppersYounger consumers (1534 years) are more frequent shoppers, but they spend smaller amounts. They

are also more price-sensitive than other groups. For media, entertainment, clothes and shoes, they are an

especially important customer group, since they buy significantly more than other consumers.

If we compare the 1524 year olds to all consumers, a peculiar difference emerges. 1524 years old are

less likely to depend on search engines, but rely more on friends for advice on e-merchant. Perhaps that is

an effect of more elaborate usage of social media.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

How the 1524 year old

consumers nd e-merchants

E-shop

sthatI

have

used

before

Webs

itesof

the

highs

treets

hopsI

like

Pricec

ompar

isonsite

Search

engine

Tipfro

mafrie

nd

Viaab

anner

ad

Inform

ation

fromm

edia Ot

her

Dono

tknow

%

66%

32%35%

53%

35%

8%

13%

5%3%


26/36

26


The quality of the website is extra important in order to attract this age group. More than half of them

(57%) avoid e-merchants with what they believe to be bad websites. They are also open to new accessforms, and more prone to using mobile phones for e-commerce.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

E-shops that 1524 year old

consumers avoid

None

Ihave

notu

sedbefor

e

Notm

ypaym

entmeth

od

Shopswh

ichIh

ave

noth

eardo

f

Badwebs

ites

Seems

unreliab

le

Notlin

kedwi

thhig

h

street

shop

s Other

%

6%

23%

43% 42%

57%

51%

16%

6%


27/36

27


8. E-commerce by product category

The largest product category in the region is travel. The sector generates about 20% of the e-commerce

in the major European market and up to 47% of the market in the Nordic countries. The second largest

category in nearly all markets except France is electronics. France, however, has clothes and shoes as its

second largest category at 15%.

Media and entertainment is the third largest category in all Nordic countries and Germany. In the UK, the

third largest sector is household products, in Spain the third largest category is clothes and shoes, and for

France the third largest category is electronics.

In all countries, European citizens are positive towards paying taxes online (63% of total), but a significant

difference in national preferences emerges. In the UK (38%) and Germany (37%) a major constituency

says no, while only 8% in Finland are negative towards paying taxes online.

Figure 9 E-commerce per product category Sweden

The Swedish consumers plan, book and pay their travelling online, and 38% of the Swedish e-commerce

market constitutes travel related expenses. The second largest category is electronics (19%). Another

significant market segment in Sweden is media and entertainment (9%).

Percentage of Swedish consumers who expect to increase consumption in selected product categories

Computers ElectronicsFood/

beveragesAlcohol Furniture

Households

appliancesHotels

83% 45% 59% 27% 28% 59% 54%

Travel agents Transport Air flights Books Music films Software Clothes

26% 34% 64% 70% 53% 20% 82%

ShoesSports

equipmentPharmacy

Health and

beautyPublic sector

Finance/

insurance

Tele-

communication

37% 24% 56% 54% 39% 59% 24%

E-commerce per product category in Sweden

{ Electronics

{ Household products

{ Home

{Travel

{ Media/entertainment

{ Clothes and shoes{ Personal care

{ Services

{ Other

19%

4%

7%

38%

9%

10%

3%3%

6%


28/36

28


Figure 10 E-commerce per product category Norway

A full 47% of the e-commerce market in Norway is travel-related, which is even more than in Sweden.

Norway has the highest per capita e-commerce of all countries, meaning that the Norwegian online travel

market is substantial. Electronics is the second largest category with 18% of the total market.

E-commerce per product category in Norway

{ Electronics


{ Home

{Travel


{ Clothes and shoes

{ Personal care

{ Services

{ Other

18%

4%

4%

47%

9%

7%

3%

4%6%

Percentage of Norwegian consumers who expect to increase consumption in selected product categories



Households

appliancesHotels

86% 44% 33% 29% 19% 24% 73%


27% 39% 78% 60% 62% 28% 72%

ShoesSports

equipmentPharmacy

Health and

beauty

Finance/

insurance

Tele-

communication

41% 35% 35% 72% 59% 52%


29/36

29


Figure 11 E-commerce per product category Finland

As its Nordic neighbours, the Finnish e-commerce market is mainly related to travelling. About a third of

the Finnish market is travel-related, and around 18% is electronics. The third largest category is media and

entertainment at 11%.

Percentage of Finnish consumers who expect to increase consumption in selected product categories



Households

appliancesHotels

71% 62% 56% 36% 23% 53% 61%


46% 23% 55% 39% 49% 22% 81%

ShoesSports

equipmentPharmacy

Health and

beauty

Finance/

insurance

Tele-

communication

33% 27% 39% 76% 42% 11%

E-commerce per product category in Finland

{ Electronics


{ Home

{Travel


{ Clothes and shoes

{ Personal care

{ Services

{ Other

18%

4%

8%

35%

12%

11%

3%

4%6%


30/36

30


Figure 12 E-commerce pr product category Denmark

Travel is 43% of the Danish e-commerce market, which the second largest prevalence of travel within the

studied countries. Compared to the rest of Europe, the travel-related market is relatively larger in the

Nordic region.

Percentage of Danish consumers who expect to increase consumption in selected product categories



Households

appliancesHotels

85% 41% 63% 8% 21% 40% 60%


29% 47% 67% 58% 55% 33% 81%

ShoesSports

equipmentPharmacy

Health and

beauty

Finance/

insurance

Tele-

communication

37% 28% 42% 60% 34% 63%

E-commerce per product category in Denmark

{ Electronics


{ Home

{Travel


{ Clothes and shoes

{ Personal care

{ Services

{ Other

16%

5%

8%

43%

9%

7%

2%

6% 4%


31/36

31


Figure 13 E-Commerce per product category UK

The UK market has a fairly even distribution of the different categories. Travel is the largest category

(19%), but electronics follows with 15%, and household products stand for 14%. There is a relatively large

e-commerce market for household and home products compared to the other countries.

Percentage of British consumers who expect to increase consumption in selected product categories



Households

appliancesHotels

80% 52% 79% 41% 37% 56% 62%


27% 46% 62% 55% 57% 32% 88%

ShoesSports

equipmentPharmacy

Health and

beauty

Finance/

insurance

Tele-

communication

61% 24% 46% 63% 36% 28%

E-commerce per product category in the UK

{ Electronics


{ Home

{Travel


{ Clothes and shoes

{ Personal care

{ Services

{ Other

15%

14%

9%

19%10%

9%

6%

9%

9%


32/36

32


Figure 14 E-commerce per product category Spain

The Spanish market also has a fairly even distribution of the different categories. Electronics is relatively

small at 12%, compared to 18% in the Nordic countries. The largest category is travel (20%) which is less

than half compared to Norway and Denmark. Personal care is fairly popular in Spain (10%).

Percentage of Spanish consumers who expect to increase consumption in selected product categories



Households

appliancesHotels

75% 40% 75% 16% 34% 32% 70%


43% 38% 56% 49% 36% 21% 75%

ShoesSports

equipmentPharmacy

Health and

beauty

Finance/

insurance

Tele-

communication

49% 30% 27% 69% 54% 24%

E-commerce per product category in Spain

{ Electronics


{ Home

{Travel


{ Clothes and shoes

{ Personal care

{ Services

{ Other

12%

10%

11%

20%8%

11%

10%

10%

8%


33/36

33


Figure 15 E-commerce per product category Germany

The German market is the largest market of the studied countries. It has similarities to the French and

Spanish market, but distinguishes itself with a larger market for media and entertainment.

Percentage of German consumers who expect to increase consumption in selected product categories



Households

appliancesHotels

80% 43% 69% 10% 33% 43% 60%


26% 14% 52% 71% 47% 38% 79%

ShoesSports

equipmentPharmacy

Health and

beauty

Finance/

insurance

Tele-

communication

63% 17% 83% 28% 21% 21%

E-commerce per product category in Germany

{ Electronics


{ Home

{Travel


{ Clothes and shoes

{ Personal care

{ Services

{ Other

14%

13%

11%

23%

10%

10%

7%

4%

9%


34/36

34


Figure 16 E-Commerce per product category France

France is the only market where the clothes and shoes category is larger than electronics (15% and

14% respectively).

Percentage of French consumers who expect to increase consumption in selected product categories



Households

appliancesHotels

78% 45% 51% 36% 42% 53% 46%


45% 39% 41% 50% 43% 30% 82%

ShoesSports

equipmentPharmacy

Health and

beauty

Finance/

insurance

Tele-

communication

54% 24% 18% 73% 50% 11%

E-commerce per product category in France

{ Electronics


{ Home

{Travel


{ Clothes and shoes

{ Personal care

{ Services

{ Other

14%

11%

10%

21%8%

15%

4%

5%

12%


35/36


36/36

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Documents

Dibs Ecommerce Survey Europe 2010