Recent trends indicate that online shopping or online retailing is poised for a big boom in the European Union. According to the surveys, the market of online retailing is going to be worth trillions of pounds in the EU with UK, France and Germany leading the race. These markets will hold more than 50% of the total trade in EU. It is estimated that the rapid growth and high volume of net based shopping in these two countries will encourage people of proximate countries like Belgium, Austria and Holland to opt for online shopping.

Early signs of this boom are already showing. Last year, online shoppers flooded online retailers with orders amounting to millions of pounds. This resulted in increased online shopping, which for the first time outpaced the traditional retail.

According to studies, e-retailers in Europe are clearly ahead of the e-retailers of US both in terms of profit and growth rate. They are taking the advantage of the aftermath of the slowdown of the US economy and the combined growth rate of online retailing in Europe is far greater than that of US.

The surge in online retailing in Europe owes to two facts. The first factor is that existing customers are repetitively buying online which in turn has led to the broadening of the customer base. The second reason is the penetration and availability of ‘Broadband’ high quality high speed Internet connection.

It is expected that a broad online customer base will form quickly in Europe for product categories such as electronic goods, daily use goods etc. Experts note that there will be phenomenal growth in electronic goods such as gadgets, mobile phones, mobile phone accessories, bluetooth accessories and computer accessories.

Online retail promises to provide e-shoppers in Europe with the best services and products with a greater deal of choice and extremely competitive prices. The Online retail store will allow customers to shop from the comfort of their home without facing the chaos of walking through crowded streets and trying to park, however, all this will depend on how fast people adopt online shopping.