His industry e-commerce maintains a positive pace growth in Europe while there is a growing demand for more sustainable e-commerce, i.e. based on greener patterns of consumption and production while at the same time making deliveries and returns more efficient.

This results from the report on European Electronic Commerce 2023 which, as announced today by the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was jointly published by the organizations Ecommerce Europe and EuroCommerce.

Overall, the report’s evidence shows that the industry is developing the resilience needed to overcome the multifaceted challenges of our time.

Regarding Greece, the president of EBEP and member of EuroCommerce, Basilis Korkidis, referred to the data noting the following: “Both 2022 and 2023 are characterized by a persistently high inflation, with the result that European and domestic consumers are very more vulnerable to commodity prices. According to the Eurostat survey and data for our country, it is clear that the use of the internet from 79% in 2021 increased to 84% in 2022 and 2023. Among the most popular search engines with an overwhelming share of 97% in Greece were Google. Accordingly, Greek online consumers continue to grow from 51% in 2019 to 70% in 2022 and 75% in 2023. B2C online sales continue to grow steadily from 7.5 billion euros in 2019, by 8-10% annually , with an estimated turnover of 17.33 billion euros in 2023. E-commerce, according to the IMF data on E-GDP, follows with a participation rate of 7.9% the growth of the GDP in Greece. Consumer habits are changing rapidly and Greek entrepreneurship seems to be adapting.”

In more detail, regarding the findings of the report, as stated in an announcement by the EBEP, in 2022, B2C turnover increased from 849 billion euros in 2021, to €899 billion in 2022, despite the changing economic and political environment. Although the growth rate for 2022, reaching 6%, is lower than 2021 which reached 12% due to the pandemic, the industry continues to move forward and is expected to continue growing in 2023.

Throughout 2022, Europe was heavily affected by the impact of the Russian war in Ukraine, mainly by high inflation rates putting downward pressure on consumer purchasing power. The report highlights that higher prices have been the main driver of e-commerce turnover growth in many European countries. However, the lower prices were partially offset by an increase in purchases of online services and mainly in travel. At the same time, European decision-makers are adapting the regulatory landscape to the challenges and opportunities posed by the digital and green transition.

To demonstrate the significant impact of inflation on the industry, this year’s report added inflation-adjusted growth figures for Europe and all its regions. In 2021, inflation-adjusted European e-commerce growth was still very strong at +9%, but fell in 2022 due to the inflation shock and contracted for the first time to -2%. The only regions without a decline in e-commerce in 2022 were Eastern Europe with +5% and Southern Europe with +13%. In 2023, e-commerce started to recover as inflation eased, leading us to forecast a return to growth of around +2% in 2023.

The report also identifies technological advancements in 5G, AR/VR, digital wallet and new store solutions such as SaaS as a driver of deeper e-commerce penetration and thus an opportunity to smooth out regional differences. Another aspect mentioned in the report is the growing demand for more sustainable e-commerce, which is expected to be based on more efficient deliveries and returns, as well as greener consumption and production patterns. Taken together, the report’s key findings suggest that the industry is developing the resilience necessary to overcome the multifaceted challenges of our time.

Finally, Christel Delberge, managing director of EuroCommerce, commented that the consumer journey is changing rapidly and the combination of online and offline interaction has become the new normal. In 2022, with inflation on the rise, consumers became much more price sensitive and tried harder to save money by comparing and diversifying their online and offline shopping channels. It is expected that online sales will continue to grow in the coming years, reaching approximately 30% of retail sales by 2030. An online presence has become vital for many retailers and especially for smaller businesses.