European Online Cross-border Sales Sets Growth Record of 35 Percent

Omnichannel retailers and webshops that operate internationally achieved a joint cross-border sales turnover of €146 billion in 2020, according to the Top 500 Cross-Border Retail Europe report. The report is a comprehensive compilation of cross-border data from Western European etailers.

35% up in sales

In short, cross-border sales, excluding travel expenses, are up by 35% compared to the previous year to a total of EUR 146 billion. The distribution between sellers from within the EU16 and those outsides is 60% EU16 vs. 40% outside. This means that EU16 sellers including marketplaces are slightly gaining market share.

TOP 10: only dedicated omnichannel retailers

For the second year in a row, IKEA is first in the Top 500 Cross-Border Retail Europe. Followed by H&M, Pandora, Smyths Toys, LEGO, Nespresso, and Expert. Cos, Swarovski and &Other Stories complete the top 10. It is striking that the top 10 consists only of omnichannel retailers. Whilst e-commerce players like Zalando, Vivino, C&A, Zara, and TomTom dropped out of the top 10.

To clarify, Cross-Border Commerce Europe measures the ranking by four parameters. Firstly, online cross-border sales in Europe. Secondly, SEO indicators. Next, the number of supported export countries. Finally, the number and percentage of cross-border visitors.

Impact of COVID19

The coronavirus influenced the huge increase of 24% in revenue a lot. Retailers turned to online shopping due to lockdowns. And boosting the expansion of cross-border e-commerce through online stores. Especially products in the category of fashion and toys were hot to buy online.