New growth in European e-commerce indicates sector’s ability to adapt and reinvent

This press release was updated on 10 October 2025 due to a currency conversion error for the United Kingdom, which has now been rectified.

Ecommerce Europe and EuroCommerce are proud to unveil the 2025 European E-commerce Report. In 2024, the total B2C European e-commerce turnover increased by 7%, rising from €784 billion to €842 billion. Overall, figures in 2024 compare positively with previous years, as inflation decreased, bringing real growth in Europe to 4.6%. Despite global challenges, the e-commerce sector is tapping into new opportunities, embedding itself ever more deeply into the everyday lives of European citizens.

The encouraging performance of the European e-commerce sector in 2024 was supported by various factors. First, the ever-growing consumer demand, spurred by convenience, personalised customer experience, a broad products and services offer, including second-hand and other circular options, and increasing consumer trust. Second, businesses’ accrued investment in technology, enhancing marketing, customer service, payments, logistics. Third, national governments and the EU are piloting programmes to stimulate the competitiveness of local companies. However, challenges persist, starting with complex regulations and uneven or poor enforcement of EU rules, leading to an unlevel playing field between EU-based and non-EU based businesses.

While e-commerce players face similar opportunities and challenges across Europe, macro-regional specificities continue to impact local growth rates. Looking at the inflation-adjusted numbers for Europe and all its regions, this year’s figures widely indicate stabilisation. With a European inflation rate hovering at 2.7%, real growth was registered in Europe and in all its macro-regions. The projections in terms of growth rate and inflation for 2025 are comparable to those recorded in 2024, offering an optimistic outlook for the further development of e-commerce.

To continue with this positive trend, appropriate policy instruments, such as the simplification and harmonisation of the regulatory framework, are key enablers. The simplification agenda is largely welcomed by e-commerce players, who see an opportunity to scale their operations at the EU level, contributing to the competitiveness of our European economy. Nevertheless, balance and cooperation between policymakers and the e-commerce sector are needed to create the right stimuli and prevent loopholes. Legislation must be applied consistently to ensure a level playing field, but laws must also be enforced in a proportionate and uniform way. Crucially, rule-making should be transparent and avoid undermining responsible value chains or stifling market innovation – including the second-hand economy and omnichannel retail solutions.

Reacting to the figures and trends, Luca Cassetti, Secretary General of Ecommerce Europe, stated: “This year marks an important change of perspective at EU level on issues such as competitiveness and simplification. Considerations on these aspects are now part of new policy initiatives and ongoing policy procedures. However, the urgency of the situation remains unaddressed. Ecommerce Europe has therefore renewed its call for a level playing field in e-commerce in its open letter of June 2025. In addition, we plead for policy instruments to be as light-touch as possible, so as for e-commerce to continue offering a concrete outlet for a wide range of products and services.”

Christel Delberghe, Director General of EuroCommerce, commented: “Our report underlines that Europe must urgently step up enforcement to ensure all businesses, whether EU-based or not, play by the same rules, with consistent and robust application across Member States. We call for a greater focus on compliance, harmonisation and simplification of rules to unlock the full potential of cross-border e-commerce and strengthen the sector’s global competitiveness.”

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

The Centre for Market Insights of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences prepared the report.

A light version of the report is available here.

The European E-commerce Report 2025 provides a thorough analysis of the e-commerce landscape across 38 European countries. This edition updates key metrics on business-to-consumer e-commerce turnover, alongside internet and e-shopper penetration rates, with a special focus on the EU-27.

Western Europe keeps holding the lion’s share in the total e-commerce turnover in Europe (58%), closing 2024 at €490 billion and corresponding to a growth rate of 6%. Other regions experienced stronger growth. Eastern Europe hit an impressive growth rate of 18% in 2024, bringing the total turnover to €20 billion. Southern and Central Europe exhibited growth rates of 9% and 8%, respectively, with turnovers reaching €183 billion and €86 billion. Northern Europe saw its turnover raise to €63 billion, with a growth rate matching the European average (7%). Interestingly, Southern Europe ranked first among the macro-regions in terms of E-GDP share, calculated as 4.2% of the regional GDP. In 2024, 81% of European B2C e-commerce turnover occurred in the EU-27.

In 2024, 73% of Europe’s population aged between 16 and 74 purchased online, suggesting an increase of online shopping in absolute numbers. Diverging figures at country level figures highlight both the maturity of e-commerce in certain markets (mainly Western and Northern Europe) and the untapped potential in others, particularly in parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe. The concerned national e-commerce associations linked the increase in online purchases with convenience, affordability, accessibility, consumer-friendly policies and wide choice of products and services. On the other hand, they interpreted decreases in e-shopping as a consequence of inflation, overall uncertainty and personal taste for bricks-and-mortar’s experiences. In 2024, Northern Europe kept its traditional pole position in the share of e-shoppers on the total population aged 16 to 74 (84%), however closely followed by Western Europe, where 83% of the given population segment shopped online in 2024. Central Europe ranks third (73%). Southern Europe saw 61% of its population aged 16 to 74 shopping online, while in Eastern Europe, which includes a significant number of countries outside the European Union, 57% of the thus-aged population shopped online in 2024.

An executive summary of the report is available here.