Cross-border accounts for 24% of total online sales in Europe

Cross-border has experienced an increase of 14.4% compared to the year before. The cross-border market (excluding travel) represented a turnover of around 109 billion euros in 2019. The cross-border share represents 23.55% of total online sales in Europe according to CBCommerce Europe.

Players within the European Union (55%) generate most of the cross-border trade in Europe. Their market share has increased with 3% compared to the year 2018. Players outside the European Union generate 45% of the cross-border trade in Europe.

Top 10 cross-border retailers

The top 10 cross-border retailers have experienced some changes. Lego, C&A, Smyths Toys and TomTom entered the list, while Pandora, Thomann, Jack & Jones and Swarovski dropped in the rankings.

1. Ikea
2. H&M
3. Zara
4. Lego
5. Nespresso
6. C&A
7. Zalando
8. Vivino
9. Smyths Toys
10. TomTom

TOP 500 ranking

CBCommerce Europe started its TOP 500 of the strongest cross-border companies last year. It ranks the e-commerce players by weighting the following four factors. The amount of online cross-border sales in Europe (16 countries within Western Europe and Scandinavia), SEO-indicators covering cross-border performance, a cross-border score determined on the amount of active countries and the amount and percentage of cross-border visitors.

Ikea, the leader of this TOP 500 ranking, progresses by one place. The company achieved cross-border turnover of €4.6 billion, an increase of 21% compared to the leader in 2018. Looking at the bottom of the ranking, Decitre takes position number 500 with a turnover of €2.65 million, an increase of 20.4% compared to 2018. The barrier to entry to this TOP 500 is therefore much higher than it was in 2018 (€ 2.2 million).

Marketplaces

In this TOP 500 ranking, 25 Marketplaces represent a turnover of €10.5 billion or 26.4% of total sales and an increase of 17% compared to 2018. Regarding retailers outside the European Union, 80% of cross-border sales are generated through ‘marketplaces’ with Amazon as the leader with its €32 billion sales.

28% of Europeans say that they appreciate the convenience of cross-border e-commerce. Despite the Brexit and the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, they firmly believe in a promising future for cross-border e-commerce in Europe.