European Ecommerce chairman looks to ease online shopping fears
Ecommerce is slowly picking up steam in Europe, with research firms noting consistent double-digit growth each year. Francois Momboisse, a veteran of the retail industry and the newly elected chairman of Ecommerce Europe, hopes to stimulate interest in the shopping medium even further by eliminating some of the common concerns consumers in the region have with ecommerce.
While growth has generally been consistent, Momboisse has noted there is a tremendous disparity within European member states. For example, in Scandanavia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, high-speed broadband is common and consumers are more apt to shop online. However, in Bulgaria and Romania, internet penetration is very low, which makes ecommerce a foreign concept to many consumers.
As the recently elected chairman of Ecommerce Europe, Momboisse aims to promote ecommerce and help the growing sector prosper. The key to doing this addressing key issues that prevent online shopping from taking hold in the region, such as underdeveloped internet infrastructure, the use of cookies to track customer behavior and the general promotion of ecommerce as a means of purchasing products and services.
"My objective will be to provide members of Parliament and the Commission with a better understanding of our job, and of consumers' expectations and needs," Momboisse explained to Internet Retailer. "We believe all areas have a strong potential for growth, based on what happens everywhere in the world. The regions that are still underdeveloped need broadband penetration growth, and we want to see that this is an objective that the Commission has clearly identified."
Always room to grow
Even regions where ecommerce has been established – such as the U.K. – can be benefited by the exploration of new markets. For example, several grocery stores in the country have begun selling groceries online. Tesco, one of these chains, is expected to bring in upward of $5.26 billion from its ecommerce offerings.
According to a separate report from Ecommerce Europe, only approximately half of Europeans shop online. In some areas, as few 6 percent of residents actively buy goods online, which suggests ecommerce has a long way to go before it's universal.
"There are enormous opportunities, but there are many barriers that still inhibit the growth of ecommerce," Wijnand Jongen, chairman of the executive committee of Ecommerce Europe, told Internet Retailer. "This is because of the differences in legislation, payments and logistic systems in Europe. What we strive for is more uniformity, so we are not restrained by European digital boundaries."
