Less Than Half of the Europeans Shop Online

Last year on average only 40 per cent of EU citizens purchased goods or services online, a study from EU reveals. A disappointingly low number. There is, however, large differences from country to country, with less than one in four individuals having made an online purchase in 11 Member States compared with more than half in 8 other Member States.

Internet purchases by individuals 2010 (% of all individuals)

Country	Percentage	Country	Percentage
Denmark	68%	UK	67%
Netherlands	67%	Sweden	66%
Luxembourg	60%	Finland	59%
Germany	59%	France	56%
Austria	42%	Malta	38%
Belgium	38%	Ireland	36%
Slovakia	33%	Poland	29%
Slovenia	27%	Czech Republic	27%
Spain	24%	Hungary	18%
Cyprus	18%	Latvia	17%
Estonia	17%	Portugal	15%
Italy	15%	Greece	12%
Lithuania	11%	Bulgaria	5%
Romania	4%

Source: Eurostat (September 2011)


E-commerce has doubled in five years
It's not all bad, fortunately. In the last five years the number of people who shop online has doubled from 20 per cent in 2005 to 40 per cent in 2010.

Online shopping in the domestic market
The Internet makes it possible to buy products and services from online shops in other countries but surprisingly few consumers do this. Last year 23 per cent of all those who made an online purchase did so from a seller based in another EU Member State. This, however, differ from country to country. In 19 Member States (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom) less than 50 per cent of online shoppers are purchasing goods or services from a shop in another country.


Find more information in the report Consumer behaviour in a digital environment by the European Parliament. Or get more numbers on the EU by Eurostat.