E-commerce statistics – statistics explained

Electronic sales recorded a slight increase in recent years

In the EU, between 2012 and 2022, the proportion of companies with electronic sales increased from 16.4% in 2012 to 22.9% in 2022. The company's sales generated from electronic sales increased by 4.9 percentage points (pp) during this period. Although it increased over the same period, i.e. from 13.1% to 18.0%, the sales recorded in 2022 decreased by 1.8 pp compared to the highest shares recorded in 2019 and 2020 (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Electronic sales and sales from electronic sales, EU, 2012-2022
(Percentage of companies, percentage of total sales)
sauce: Eurostat (isoc_ec_esels) and (isoc_ec_evals)

The percentage of companies that conduct e-sales and the revenue generated from e-sales varies greatly depending on the size of the company. In 2022, 45.9% of large companies conducted electronic sales. This represents an e-sales value of 22.9% of total sales for this size class. Among medium-sized companies, 30.2% sell electronically, accounting for 15.1% of the total sales in this size class. In contrast, 20.8% of small businesses engage in electronic sales, generating 8.1% of sales for such businesses (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Electronic sales and sales by electronic sales (by size, EU, 2022)
(Percentage of companies, percentage of total sales)
sauce: Eurostat (isoc_ec_esels) and (isoc_ec_evals)

Web sales dominate in all EU countries

Electronic sales can be carried out via websites or apps (web sales) or in an automated manner via EDI (electronic data interchange) type messages. Companies may offer clients one or both options. In 2022, the proportion of companies in EU member states with electronic sales will increase from 12.9% in Romania and 13.4% in Luxembourg to 38.9% in Lithuania, Sweden (38.1%), Denmark (36.7%) and Ireland (35.1%). %) followed. ) (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Electronic sales divided into web sales and EDI type sales, 2022
(Percentage of companies)
sauce: Eurostat (isoc_ec_esels)

As shown in Figure 3, in 2022, 17.1% of EU companies will conduct electronic sales using only websites or apps, 3.2% will use only EDI type sales, and 2.6% will use electronic sales. I used both channels.

In 2022, web sales were the main method of electronic sales in all EU member states. The percentage of businesses taking electronic orders exclusively via a website or app ranged from 33.7% in Lithuania to 9.6% in Romania. Businesses believe it is important to be visible on the Internet. As a result, his websites and apps are increasingly being offered by companies for a variety of purposes. In particular, websites and apps allow customers to make purchases by placing orders electronically.

In contrast, in 2022, the proportion of companies that used only EDI-type messages for electronic sales ranged from 8.1% of companies in Denmark and 8% in Sweden to less than 1% (0.4%) in Greece. was. The proportion of companies using both channels was highest in Denmark and Sweden (both above 6%), and lowest in Greece (0.6%) and Bulgaria (0.7%).

Considering the breakdown of economic activity, as shown in Figure 4, in 2022 almost all companies (99.7%) conducting electronic sales in the “accommodation” sector will receive orders via a website or app. , 7.3% were conducting EDI-type electronic sales. message.

Figure 4: Electronic sales categorized by economic activity into web sales and EDI type sales, EU, 2022
(Percentage of companies conducting electronic sales)
sauce: Eurostat (isoc_ec_eseln2)

Almost half of companies in the manufacturing sector that sell electronically report receiving orders through EDI-type messages (48.2%), followed by companies in the transport and storage sector (32.8%); followed by enterprises of “professional, scientific and technical activities''. ' (26.5%). Among “manufacturing” companies, the proportion of companies conducting electronic sales through websites or apps and using his EDI-type messages is relatively close compared to companies with other activities. , were 67.3% and 48.2%, respectively. For all other economic activities, most businesses received electronic orders primarily through their websites or apps (Figure 4).

It is noteworthy that among small businesses that sell electronically, 89.7% of them sell on the web, and 19.6% of their sales come via EDI-type messages. For medium-sized enterprises, the difference in the sales share through the two channels is small, with 77.5% of enterprises conducting electronic sales through websites and 39% conducting his EDI type sales. The difference in the percentage of sales between Web and EDI types was smallest for large companies (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Electronic sales by size, broken down by web sales and EDI type sales, EU, 2022
(Percentage of companies conducting electronic sales)
sauce: Eurostat (isoc_ec_esels)

EDI type sales account for a larger percentage of sales than web sales

Companies that sold electronically in 2022 primarily sold via websites rather than EDI-type messages, but the trend is reversed in terms of the value of electronic sales, with sales derived from EDI-type sales increasing because it was higher than EDI type messages. Born from online sales. In 2022, EU companies generated 18% of their total sales from electronic sales. This consists of orders made via websites or apps (6.7% of total sales) or orders via EDI-type messages (11.2% of total sales) (Figure 6). .

Among all EU member states, the share of sales generated by electronic sales ranges from 6.3% in Bulgaria to 30.5% in the Czech Republic, followed by Denmark (28.6%) and Ireland (28.4%) (Eurostat data source isoc_ec_evals).

Figure 6 shows the contribution of web sales and EDI type sales to total sales. The share of total sales from EDI type sales ranged from 2% in Greece and Bulgaria to 21.6% in Denmark and 21.3% in the Czech Republic. Ireland (19.7%) and Sweden (10.5%) had the highest percentage of web sales in total sales, while it was less than 5% in Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, Slovenia, France, and Poland.

Figure 6: Sales from e-sales divided into web sales and EDI type sales, 2022
(% of total sales)
sauce: Eurostat (isoc_ec_evals)

As Figure 7 shows, large companies with more than 250 employees and self-employed people are, as a rule, more dependent on ICT and standards that integrate EDI-type sales within their business processes. In fact, large companies report the highest percentage of sales from electronic sales (22.9%), with most of it coming from his EDI-type sales (15.2%).

Figure 7: Sales from electronic sales categorized into web sales and EDI type sales (2022)
(% of total sales)
sauce: Eurostat (isoc_ec_evals)

In 2022, companies in the “accommodation industry” accounted for the highest percentage of sales from web sales at 35.5%, followed by “information and communications” (16.7%) and “retail industry” (11.1%). Regarding the percentage of EDI type sales, “manufacturing'' (17.2%) and “electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning'' had the highest percentage. water supply” (13.0%) (Figure 8).

Figure 8: Sales from electronic sales by economic activity, categorized into web sales and EDI type sales, 2022
(% of total sales)
sauce: Eurostat (isoc_ec_evaln2)

Web sales centered on your own website and apps

Looking further into web selling, it can be done through your own website or app, or through an e-commerce marketplace available on an external website or app. E-commerce markets, and online platforms in general, have the potential to foster economic growth by allowing sellers to access new markets and reach new customers at lower costs.

The survey on “ICT use and e-commerce in companies'' found out whether companies sell products and services online through their own websites and apps, or through e-commerce marketplace websites and apps. Respondents were asked if there were any. Companies can use one or both of the web sales possibilities.

As Figure 9 shows, in 2022, 84.7% of EU companies with web sales used their own website or app, and 42.9% used an e-commerce marketplace. Estonia (97.3%), Denmark (95.6%) and Finland (95.1%) had the highest percentage of companies conducting web sales through their own website or app, while Lithuania had the lowest percentage. (42.8%).

Estonia (16.1%), Finland (21.4%) and Denmark (23.0%) had the lowest percentage of companies selling online via marketplaces. Meanwhile, the use of web sales via marketplaces was most common in Lithuania (82.3%), Poland (59.5%) and Italy (57.7%).

Figure 9: Web sales by channel type, 2022
(Percentage of companies conducting online sales)
sauce: Eurostat (isoc_ec_esels)

Sales from web sales mainly come from sales via the company's own website or app.

Moreover, as far as sales from web sales are concerned, EU companies will realize 6.7% of their total sales from web sales in 2022, of which 5.8% will come from web sales via their own website or app, and 0.9% will come online. This was realized through sales through the marketplace. . The highest percentage of sales realized through web sales through their own websites or apps was recorded in Ireland (19.2%). Sales generated via marketplaces were highest in Lithuania (4.0%) (Figure 10).

Figure 10: Revenue from web sales by channel type (2022)
(% of total sales)
sauce: Eurostat (isoc_ec_evals)

Sales mainly from web sales from other companies and public institutions

In 2022, web sales accounted for 6.7% of a company's total sales. Of this, 3.6% came from web sales to other businesses and public institutions (B2BG), and 3.1% came from web sales to private consumers (B2C). The highest proportion of sales from web sales to other companies and public institutions was recorded in Ireland (13.1%), while France and Poland recorded a share of less than 2%. The share of web sales to individual consumers in a company's total sales ranged from 0.7% in Poland to 6.6% in Ireland (Figure 11).

Figure 11: Revenue from web sales by customer type (2022)
(% of total sales)
sauce: Eurostat (isoc_ec_evals)