Kasia Davies
Research expert covering global shopping behavior market
Retail trade in Europe - Statistics and Facts
The retail industry is a key part of consumers' lives in Europe, however in recent years many countries have seen decreasing sales volumes due to the impact that inflation and the energy crisis has had on consumers. Notable exceptions to this were Turkey and Luxembourg, the former seeing sales growth of over 20 percent.
One of the largest and most important retail markets in Europe in terms of wholesale and retail turnover, however, was the German market, with a value of nearly 2.5 trillion euros. France, the United Kingdom, and Italy were likewise among the largest markets.
According to recent forecasts, there were roughly 340 million consumers who purchased goods from businesses online, and by 2029, this figure was projected to grow by nearly 100 million.
Leading players of European retail
Some of the most valuable brands in Europe in 2024 included many household names, from Mercedes-Benz to EY. When it came to retail specifically, Louis Vuitton and Nestlé were among the continent’s largest in terms of brand value. LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE) and Nestlé also topped the list of the leading consumer goods companies in Europe, with a market capitalization of almost 450 billion euros each as of March, 2024. Based on growth, semi-conductor company, Arm Holdings, was by far Europe's fastest-growing brand in 2024.Online retail
E-commerce has become a massive part of retail. Although the majority of retail transactions still take place offline, online retail is undeniably gaining more and more prominence, with many companies in European countries now making a considerable amount of their revenue in this manner. One factor that accelerated the transition to online retail was (unsurprisingly) the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In 2021, overall e-commerce revenue in Europe was valued at approximately 645 billion U.S. dollars, which is higher than the estimated value for 2024. The projected e-commerce market revenue for 2025 is the first year in which revenue is expected to exceed figures in 2021.According to recent forecasts, there were roughly 340 million consumers who purchased goods from businesses online, and by 2029, this figure was projected to grow by nearly 100 million.
