Billionth transaction via Dutch payment method iDeal

Online payment method iDeal from the Netherlands registered the billionth transaction that happened via its system. The milestone was reached during King’s Day in the Netherlands, the national holiday that marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander. The online payment system has a market share of 56 percent and is being used since 2005.

The milestone was shared by iDeal, which announced the billionth transaction happened at a New York Pizza franchise during King’s Day on the 27^th of April last month. According to iDeal, the amount of transactions increased by almost 25 percent during 2015.

Betaalvereniging Nederland, which facilitates iDeal together with the national banks, thinks we can expect a strong growth in mobile payments. All banks in the Netherlands now offer the option to pay for mobile orders with the payment method iDeal. Last year, the number of mobile payments in the Netherlands increased by 53 percent. “A quarter of all iDeal payments is already done using a smartphone or tablet”, says Piet Mallekoote, manager of Betaalvereniging Nederland. “This will only increase in the near future, as consumers increasingly use their mobile devices for shopping, ordering and completing purchases.”

iDeal gets popular across the border

According to the European Institute for Brand Management, iDeal is one of the most indispensable brands in the Netherlands, together with major brands such as Hema and Albert Heijn. The local payment method is also being used in foreign web stores in more than fifty different countries around the world. As a matter of fact, one in five payments that are completed using  iDeal, takes places at a foreign ecommerce website.

With a market share of 56 percent, iDeal is the most popular online payment method in the Netherlands.

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DHL successfully integrated Parcelcopter into logistics chain

DHL says the test it run with its Parcelcopter drone between January and March has been completed successfully. The German company claims it’s the first time worldwide that a parcel service provider has directly integrated a parcelcopter logistically into its delivery chain.

DHL Parcel conducted the trial run between January and March this year in Reit im Winkl, a community in the German state of Bavaria. Private customers in the region tested out the the specially developed Packstations, which were called the Parcelcopter Skyport. By inserting their shipments into the Skyport, automated shipment and delivery per drone was initiated. During the test period, DHL was able to perform 130 autonomous loading and offloading cycles with its Parcelcopter.

Drone four times faster than car

The DHL drone could deal with heavier loads, longer distances and delivery to an alpine region. And the latter could have been a big game breaker, as the drone had to deal with the rapidly changing weather conditions and severe temperature fluctuation that occurred in the test area. “With that achieved, the DHL Parcelcopter then performed a series of flawless flights. Each round trip from valley to plateau at roughly 1,200 meters above sea level covered eight kilometers of flight. The drone’s cargo was typically either sporting goods or urgently needed medicines and it arrived at the Alm station within just eight minutes of take-off”, the company proudly announced. “The same trip by car takes more than 30 minutes during winter.”

Testing in urban areas

Jürgen Gerdes from DHL thinks the company has now reached a certain level of technical and procedural maturity with its Parcelcopter, that it could eventually allow for fields trials in urban areas as well. The company will now analyze performance data and use these findings to select other potential areas for testing.

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Amazon helps European vendors sell cross-border

Amazon has announced the launch of its Pan-European Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) program. The American retail company gives European sellers on its Amazon Marketplace the opportunity to have them deliver the goods to customers in other European Union countries. This way, the American retail giant hopes to dominate online deliveries across the continent.

European sellers on Amazon Marketplace can now ship their goods to one of the 29 distribution centers Amazon has in Europe. Here Amazon will store the inventory for them, so when the sellers receive an order from a customer in another EU country, Amazon will pick, pack and ship the items to the buyer’s home. For customers the Pan-European FBA program should lead to faster shipping times and lower delivery costs.

Tens of thousands of SMEs sell to customers across the EU

According to Amazon, tens of thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises already sell to Amazon customers across the European Union. For example, sellers from the UK exported nearly 1.77 billion euros in 2015, and over 50 percent of EU sellers sell on more than one Amazon Marketplace in the EU during the first quarter of this year.

Competing with Royal Mail and TNT Express

As Bloomberg puts it, the expansion of Amazon’s shipping and logistics operation in Europe, may increase competition with local courier services such as Royal Mail and TNT Express. “The web retailer is reported to be seeking to establish a global delivery network that controls the flow of goods from factories in China and India to customer doorsteps in New York and London.”

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Swedish e-tailer Caliroots expands to the Netherlands

Caliroots, a Swedish online retailer of streetwear and sneakers, has launched a tailored ecommerce website for the Dutch market. According to Caliroots, the Netherlands has been on the company’s list of top 10 markets for a while and now they are launching Caliroots.nl, in Dutch and with the popular local payment method iDeal.

Caliroots says the company keeps on growing internationally, and with a strong focus on Europe it is continuing to do so by pinpointing and optimizing their services for new markets. Now it launched Caliroots.nl, an optimized website for the Dutch market. “The main difference is local language, faster deliveries and local payment methods through iDeal.”

The ecommerce website offers tons of streetwear and sneakers and ships orders with a minimum value of 100 euros for free in 2 to 4 days. Items can be refunded for 30 days and, aside from iDeal, the company accepts also PayPal, Visa and Mastercard payments.

‘iDeal is perfect for our international growth’

It seems like Caliroots is particularly happy with the iDeal integration, because this news forms the headline of the press release it sent out to announce the expansion to the Netherlands. “By giving consumers the ability to pay through online banking with real-time confirmation, followed by an irreversible transfer into the retailer’s account, iDeal is perfect for immediate online payment and also for Caliroots’ international growth”, the Swedish retailer says.

About Caliroots

Caliroots was founded in Sweden in 2003. In 2014, the company acquired Swedish retailer Hollywood, which also sells streetwear and shoes, together with items such as skateboards, longboards and snowboards. Caliroots consists of three different concepts: Six Feet Down, Cali OG and C Store. The company has a turnover of 200 million Swedish kronor (€21.7 million) with a large proportion of international sales online. Caliroots has 8 phyiscal stores in Sweden and is headquartered in Stockholm.

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Logistics software solution Descartes buys German Pixi

Descartes, a provider of SaaS logistics software solutions, has acquired Pixi, a German solutions provider for ecommerce order fulfilment and warehouse management. Pixi’s ERP software is currently integrated with hundreds of ecommerce sites in Europe and has offices in Munich, Leipzig and Slovenia.

Descartes announced the news on its company website, where it says it bought the German company for approximately 9.2 million euros, paid in cash. “We believe that our customers are looking for a solution that integrates their ecommerce front-end, warehouse and shipping systems. Consumers expect to be able to choose when they will receive their order, so our ability to bring different delivery methods and windows to the point-of sale is a big differentiator”, Descartes’ CEO Edward Ryan explained.

How Pixi works

Pixi was founded in 2000 and helps its customers automate ecommerce processes originating form online orders. The ERP software is integrated with hundreds of European ecommerce website and customers include both SMBs and larger retailers. Pixi’s platform collects all the order information from an online shop, translates that into a scanner-driven pick and pack process within the warehouse, initiates the shipment to the customer, and synchronizes all of this information with the customer’s financial system for invoicing and shipment tracking.

Descartes has its headquarters in Ontario, Canada and has over 10,000 customers in more than 160 countries worldwide. It generated revenues of 170.9 million dollar (€147 million) during the fiscal year 2015.

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German payment service Paydirekt wants to expand in Europe

Paydirekt, the online payment service of the German banks, wants to expand its service in Europe. The planned expansion isn’t something that will happen very soon, but in the medium term the payment solution, which started as a PayPal rival, should be available for customers outside of Germany.

“The road is going into that direction”, says Joachim Schmalzl, executive member of the German Savings Bank Association. This German umbrella organization, funded by the regional savings banks associations together with the national banks, announced Paydirekt in November last year.

Paydirekt was officially launched during Deutschen Sparkassentag last week. All German savings banks confirmed their participation, which means 15 million customers with online-enabled checking accounts can use the system immediately and pay their online purchases conveniently, securely and directly from their checking account.

In December, the participating banks announced they were very happy with the success of online payment method. Paydirekt was very well received by the customers and the organization recorded 150,000 registrations after just six weeks.

About Paydirekt

The payment solution was put into market as a competitor to Paypal, after many banks in Germany complained about the dominance of the American payment company. Foreign consumers were already able to use Paydirekt, provided they have a bank account with online access at one of the participating banks. But now there are plans to expand the Paydirekt services to other European countries.

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German payment provider Paymill files for preliminary insolvency

Paymill, a one-stop solution which enables merchants to easily accept credit and debit cards, announced it made the decision to go for a preliminary insolvency in self-administration. With this decision, the German online payment provider hopes to bring the merger and acquisition negotiations to a successful result.

There were already some rumors about Paymill filing for bankruptcy in the German media, but the online payment provider chose to share the news itself on the company’s blog. Mark Henkel, co-founder and CEO of Paymill, used the blog to answer some questions customers may have. He explains that the management team decided to go for a preliminary insolvency so it could help change the company’s ownership. “As an aspect of strategic management, mergers and acquisitions can allow enterprises to grow, change the nature of their business or improve their competitive position”, he says.

Paymill is in advanced M&A negotiations

The CEO stresses that the payout to all of their register customers won’t be affected, because processing and settlements are being handled by the acquiring banks. For now, Paymill remains the customer’s contact to the acquiring banks. On what happens next, Henkel says they will be continuing their business operations as usual. “We are currently in advanced M&A negotiations with several parties and focused on bringing the process to a successful outcome.”

One of the reasons for the current situation is that it took longer as expected to get a banking license for Paymill. “To be great in the fintech area, you need a banking license. But this has taken too much time”, Henkel told Gründerszene.

The news about Paymill follows after other European payment provider news. SumUp and Payleven announced a merger agreement and to operate under the name SumUp.

About Paymill

In 2012, Rocket Internet launched Munich-based Paymill, which was modeled after US rival Stripe. Since then, the company raised 18 million euros in venture capital from investors like Rocket Internet, and Holtzbrinck Ventures. Paymill currently employs about 60 people.

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May: ecommerce events in Europe

A new month, a new chance to attend some ecommerce events in Europe. This month there are several online retail conferences you could attend in London, but there are also interesting summits in Berlin, Stockholm and Bucharest! We made a handy overview for you, so you know when and where an ecommerce event in Europe takes place.

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May 4-5: Ecommerce Show Europe 2016 – The United Kingdom

Ecommerce Show Europe is being organized for the third time now. This two-day event consists of three different conferences, as it runs alongside Home Delivery World Europe and Click & Collect Show.

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May 10: Treffpunkt E-Commerce Berlin – Germany

Treffpunkt E-Commerce Berlin is a networking event of Der Händlerbund, the national online trade association of Germany. It’s off course meant for ecommerce players and offers presentations from Coeo Inkasso, SpringGlobalMail, Smarketer and PaketButler.

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May 17: UK E-Commerce Summit – The United Kingdom

This London-based event brings together UK and EU policy makers, local ecommerce companies and international retailers trading in the UK together to discuss the issues affecting ecommerce in the UK.

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May 18: eCommerce Worldwide Cross-Border Summit – The United Kingdom

eCommerce Worldwide Cross-Border Summit is a free event for companies who plan to expand their ecommerce business overseas. There are keynotes from Boden, Global-e, Virgin Megastore, Shop Direct, Alibaba and more.

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May 18-19: Nordic eCommerce Summit – Sweden

If you want to know more about the ecommerce industry in the Nordics, the Nordic eCommerce Summit might be it. This 2-day event welcomes more than 1,000 attendees. There are speakers from Asos and Alibaba and you can follow 15 different symposiums and workshops.

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May 24: Online and Digital Grocery Summit 2016 – The United Kingdom

Online and Digital Grocery Summit 2016 is an event that is particularly interesting for companies in the FMCG industry. It wants to make attendees understand the key actions to optimize ecommerce strategies and increase online sales. Speakers include Facebook, Asda, Waitrose and Coca Cola.

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May 25-26-27: GPeC 2016 – Bucharest

GPeC Summit is a popular online retail event in Romania which lasts for three days. During these days, there are several conferences, workshops, the GPeC E-Commerce Expo, networking possibilities and… a party!

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May 29 – June 1: Global E-commerce Summit – Barcelona

This popular event lasts four days and it takes place in sunny Barcelona. Not bad, huh? You can absorb information from keynotes, market insights, business cases, the Global E-commerce Party and the European E-commerce Award show.

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Visit ecommerce events in Europe

If you want to visit more ecommerce events in Europe, please visit our events calendar. If your event is missing, don’t hesitate to contact us!

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UK ecommerce provider EKM partners with Klarna

EKM, the largest hosted ecommerce provider in the UK, has announced it is partnering with Swedish payments company Klarna. Starting today, all new merchants who sign up for a store with EKM will be offered a store and payment solution powered by EKM and Klarna. The new store will have Klarna’s checkout pre-installed and ready to go.

EKM and Klarna announced the news today in a press release, stating they both invested heavily in making sure that a merchant instantly can start to sell. “Customers can use familiar payment methods, or benefit from Klarna’s ‘pay after delivery’ option”, the companies explain. “Mobile shoppers can experience true one-click purchases across all stores using Klarna, while merchants get seamless payment and increased conversation online and on mobile devices.”

According to Steven Hickey, head of business development at EKM, businesses of any size can set up their ecommerce website almost immediately in a single process, with “a payment system that rivals the biggest names in retail”.

About ecommerce software EKM

EKM claims to be the largest hosted ecommerce provider in the UK and say they host 1 in 5 British online stores using its cloud-based solution. The company has grown to host 30,000 online stores and on average 1,000 new merchant sign up per month.

About Klarna

Klarna is a payments startup from Sweden that processed almost 8 billion euros in payments last year. The company has more than 1,200 employees and is active on 18 markets. It works with more than 50,000 merchants.

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Europe could expect more cross-border sales from US

The US Customers and Border Protection have announced it increases the limit on duty-free purchases from the European Union from 200 to 800 dollars. In practice this means American online shoppers can buy more expensive stuff from European merchants without paying duties and taxes. So ecommerce companies in Europe could be expecting more US customers this year.

As Internet Retailer describes it, the increase was announced in March by the US Customs and Border Protection. The federal law enforcement agency raised the value of a shipment of merchandise imported by one person on one day that generally may be imported free of duties and taxes from $200 (€175) to $800 (€700). The retail value is based on the price of merchandise in the country of origin.

The change could mean European ecommerce companies will be welcoming more American customers. German shoe retailer Shoepassiong.com is one of those companies. It launched an English-language website in 2013, but now plans to alert its US-based customers by email about the duty change and is about to launch a US version of its ecommerce website next month.

‘Expect more cross-border sales from US’

According to Uwe Bald, vice president of international development at Hermes, the increase hasn’t been widely publicized in Europe. “But when it does, look for more cross-border sales”, he says. “It could take three to six months for larger retailers to begin promoting the new duty level to US customers, and up to a year for small and medium-sized retailers”, Bald thinks.

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French postal company La Poste rolls out parcel lockers nationwide

French postal service company La Poste and railway company SNCF have deployed their first lockers in a hundred stations in Ile de France and now announced they will install more lockers in the major train stations of Paris and the main stations in other big cities in France.

The two companies announced the news today in a press release. SNCFC and La Poste are happy with the partnership they started by installing 120 lockers in the Parisian region last year and will continue this partnership by deploying 130 so called “Collect & Station” parcel lockers in train stations across France.

Collect & Station

Customers who want to make use of the “Collect & Station” lockers, can choose this option when they purchase something online. When the package is available for pickup, the customer gets an email or SMS with a removal code. This code can be entered on the screen, after which the locker opens and the customer can grab the package.

The goal is to have more than 250 pickup stations in place by the end of this year. To date, over 120,000 parcels have been delivered through the current pickup parcel lockers.

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Supermarket Merkur from Austria opens online store

Supermarket chain Merkur from Austria has announced its plan to launch an online store next month. The ecommerce website will only accept orders from customers in the Vienna area for now. In the online shop of Merkur, customers can buy the full range of the physical stores, which consist of more than 20,000 items.

According to the Austrian newspaper Der Standard, the online store of Merkur wants to deliver groceries that were ordered in the morning to customers in the evening. Merkur already has an online store. However, the ecommerce website Merkur Direkt is only meant for corporate clients such as companies and kindergartens.

Online grocery stores in Austria

Billa, the leading supermarket chain from Austria that’s, like Merkur, part of German retail and tourism co-operative group REWE Group, has an online store for several years now and since October 2015, it offers hom delivery to all households and businesses based in Austria. Merkur’s competitor Spar doesn’t have an online grocery store, so it could really boost Merkur’s sales and market share if the online store opens its doors next month.

About Merkur

Merkur is a chain of hyperstores in Austria. The average sales area of a Merkur store is 2,000 square meters and offers about 20,000 different products. The company has more than 10,000 employees working in the 126 stores across the country.

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Amazon France opens dedicated Euro 2016 shop

In 45 days, the best European soccer countries (minus the Netherlands) will decide which country will succeed Spain as the European champion. To get fans in the mood, Amazon France opened a dedicated online Euro 2016 shop, containing more than 134,000 items for soccer fans.

The dedicated Amazon shop Amazon.fr/foot2016 contains most items from the retailer’s soccer department, but of course also has all the Euro 2016 merchandise, such as key cords, socks, stuffed toys and t-shirts. Amazon’s Euro 2016 shop is divided into different categories: “I support my team”, “I celebrate with friends”, “I watch the matches at home”, “I play like the pros” and “After the matches”.

The Euro 2016 shop from Amazon.fr

Amazon also revealed the top 20 of cities in France, based on sales in the Amazon football shop between the 1st of April last year and the 1ste of April this year. The top 5 consists of Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt, Villeurbanne, Nice and Metz.

1. Paris
2. Boulogne-Billancourt
3. Villeurbanne
4. Nice
5. Metz
6. Lyon
7. Aix-en-Provence
8. Montpellier
9. Besançon
10. Orleans
11. Montreuil
12. Strasbourg
13. Toulouse
14. Dijon
15. Nantes
16. Marseilles
17. Saint-Etienne
18. Toulon
19. Nancy
20. Bordeaux

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Ecommerce salaries in the UK rise again

As the ecommerce industry is still growing and becoming more mature, more people are getting their paycheck from a company that’s active in the online retail business. Ecommerce salaries in the United Kingdom have increased by over 14,000 euros in 2015 and this year, it grew by more than 3,000 euros so far.

That’s apparent from the annual ecommerce salary survey conducted by UK company Cranberry Panda. Over 550 people who are active in the British ecommerce industry took part in the survey, which shows that 60.9 percent expect their salary to increase by the end of this year. Less than one percent said they believed their pay would decrease during the next eight months.

More women entered the ecommerce sector

The survey also found that men hold more senior positions than women. “However, for the last two years, more young women have been entering the ecommerce sector than man”, the recruitment agency writes. Also, women appear to be more likely to hold junior or middle management roles while men dominate the majority of senior roles. “Given that more young women than men are now entering the sector, it will be interesting to see how our ecommerce breakdown by gender will look in 5 to 10 years’ time.”

Cranberry Panda also asked its respondents which skills they would most like to develop this year. Technical and advanced level skills topped the list, with a strong focus on SEO, analytics, coding, data science and specific programming languages such as Python.

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SecurionPay wants to change approach of online payments

SecurionPay, a fintech company from Switzerland, has launched its new website and wants to further revolutionize the way small businesses approach online payments. By offering for example a drag-and-drop builder to implement payment buttons, SecurionPay wants to ensure merchants can implement payment methods on their ecommerce websites quick and easy.

SecurionPay has launched its newly revamped website and one of the changes is that the essential information about online payments should now be more understandable. We spoke with CMO Adam Wesolowski, who says the website offers easy access to start accepting online payments on a website, whether you’re a developer or a non-technical online store owner. “We designed our website to be understood by beginners and newcomers, but also more advanced merchants looking for an alternative payment provider.”

No single line of code needed

SecurionPay calls itself a revolutionary solution in the fintech world. “Our unique value is in the way we approach our customers and how all merchants can start their adventure with online payments – we provide them with a unique “drag and drop” implementation feature, which can be used by non-technical merchants without writing a single line of code”, Wesolowski explains. “Therefore we’re a perfect payment gateway for SMBs, startups, ecommerce and all online businesses that would like to start processing payments fast without a complicated implementation.”

Aside from the implementation of payment methods, SecurionPay also offers methods that should keep users on a merchant’s website while paying, such as cross-sales and ‘remember me’ features.

‘We understand the European market’

Of course we asked Wesolowski why SecurionPay is something European retailers should consider. “We are an ideal payment gateway for European retailers, because we are based in Switzerland and our team has experience working in many European countries in the fintech industry, therefore we understand the European market, its needs and challenges. Furthermore, we support 24 settlement currencies with major European currencies included, we support 23 languages for the whole of Europe, we cooperate with European acquirer banks and we support 160 payment currencies, so you can have a real Europe-open business”, he says.

About SecurionPay

SecurionPay is an online payment gateway that was founded in Switzerland in 2014. It offers an online and mobile-based payment solution, created for online merchants.

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Belgian startup Bubble Post delivers cooled items per bike

Bubble Post, a delivery startup from Belgium, has introduced its latest innovation. During an event of Topsector Logistiek Bubble Post showed its new bikes, which come with an actively cooled cargo space. It’s an eco-friendly way for companies who want their perishable items delivered into city centers.

Bubble Post is a Belgian company that also operates in five major cities in the Netherlands. Clients have their cargo trucks deliver their goods at Bubble Post just out of town. The goods then get resorted and bundled, after which Bubble Post’s couriers get them into the city center by using eco-friendly vehicles such as bikes and cars.

The last two years, Bubble Post has been specializing in transporting cooled products, such as food. But until now those goods came from a cool storage area in the warehouse and then where transferred in small and refrigerated vans driving on natural gas. As of today, Bubble Post can also take care of that last mile, with the new cargo bikes. “This will result in even more flexibility for wholesalers and catering suppliers”, the company says in its press release [pdf]. “At the same time this will help reduce the nuisance caused by large vehicles that wholesalers usually use to supply their customers in the city.”

According to Yan Ketelers from Bubble Post, the company offers a quick and ecological solution for city deliveries. “With this alternative delivery method we also unburden the city center. And for suppliers it’s also more comfortable and economical. Because now they won’t lose time by driving through the busy city center”, he says.

About Bubble Post
Bubble Post was founded in Gent, Belgium, in 2013. During that year it received an investment worth 1 million euros. It expanded its service to the Netherlands during the summer of 2015. Some of its clients are Staples, Bloomon and Vente-Exclusive.com.

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Ecommerce in Italy was worth 28.8 billion in 2015

The turnover from ecommerce in Italy is estimated to have been worth 28.8 billion euros in 2015. This means the turnover of online sales in Italy grew by 19 percent compared to 2014. Most revenue was generated by foreign players and big marketplaces like Amazon.

This is shown by research from Casaleggio Associati. It presented its research called “E-commerce in Italy 2016” to ecommerce players during a conference at the Chamber of Commerce of Milan. It was the tenth edition of the annual ecommerce study, which was now dedicated to the company’s founder and CEO, Gianroberto Casaleggio, who passed away on 12 April.

Impressive growth of online shopping centers

The online shopping centers saw their turnover increase by 140 percent, making them the sector with the highest growth in Italian ecommerce. The food industry also saw strong growth numbers, as this industry grew by 77 percent compared to 2014. Last year, the consumer electronics industry suffered a decrease of 15 percent compared to the year before.

These are the expected growth percentages for 2016:

Factors that boost conversion rate

Part of the research was dedicated to conversion rate optimization. Two-thirds of Italian merchants try to simplify the purchasing process in order to improve the conversion rate. Four out of ten online retailers think giving the customers a sense of convenience and offering them support during the purchase process are other important factors that could boost the conversion rate.

Mcommerce in Italy

“Last year, the mobile commerce confirmed its important role in the online sales in Italy, following the trend already seen in foreign markets”, Casaleggio Associati writes. Mcommerce accounted for 22 percent of ecommerce in Italy last year. In 2014, the share of mobile ecommerce was just 13 percent. “This growth comes as a result of the fact that Italian people are more confident with mobile devices and they are more inclined to complete purchases on mobile.”

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Ecommerce in the UK to reach 174 billion in 2016

The turnover growth of B2C ecommerce in the UK is stabilizing. The online retail industry is expected to grow by 10.5 percent this year to reach 173.7 billion euros. Last year, the British ecommerce industry increased by 11 percent to 157 billion euros.

The Ecommerce Foundation released another ecommerce report on the state of ecommerce in an European country. Recently it already showed new statistics on ecommerce in Belgium and ecommerce in the Netherlands.

Today, the organization released its study on ecommerce in the UK. This report shows that over 43 million Brits shopped online last year, of which 20 percent used a mobile device for doing this. On average, the British online shopper spent 3,652 euros.

As said, the British ecommerce turnover is expected to increase by 10.5 percent and reach almost 174 billion euros at the end of this year. The growth rate has slowed down during the last couple of years, but this can be seen as a sign that ecommerce is only becoming more and more matured.

Popular products and services in the UK

Just as in many other countries, clothing is by far the most popular online category in the United Kingdom. Shoes & Lifestyle and Media & Entertainment are other popular product categories. When it comes to online services, travel is the service group where most money is spent by consumers. Flight tickets and hotels account for half of the market share, followed by package travel and private transport.

Mcommerce in the UK

Mobile sales accounted for 31.1 billion euros in 2015, which is about 20 percent of total ecommerce turnover in this European country. Last year, seven out of ten Brits who are 15 years or older used a smartphone. Back in 2012, this percentage was just 51 percent. Now, 65 percent of British adults own both a tablet and a smartphone.

Payment methods in the UK

When it comes to online payments, debit cards rule the market. Last year, 45 percent of British online purchases are made through debit cards. Electronic wallet such as PayPal (23%), credit cards (14%) and bank transfers (6%) are other popular payment methods.

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Finnish ecommerce sites go trash free on Earth Day

Several ecommerce websites from Finland have joined forces in removing packaging thrash. Tomorrow, on Earth Day, they will go trash free. They will try to accomplish this by having all orders that are made on Friday shipped in reusable and returnable packaging.

Earth Day is an internationally celebrated day where millions of people and organizations show support for environmental protection. The first Earth Day was held in the US in 1970 and is now coordinated globally by non-profit organization Earth Day Network.

Reusable and returnable packaging

Now a dozen Finnish online shops have decided together to do something on this day, which takes places tomorrow on 22 April. All orders these twelve shops will ship tomorrow, will be shipped in reusable and returnable packaging.

Once the customer receives his goods, he can simply flatten the RePack bag and return it to a mailbox. Once the special packaging is returned, the customer will be rewarded with a voucher for their next purchase and the RePack is reused.

The twelve Finnish ecommerce sites

These are the twelve Finnish online stores who use RePack on Earht Day: Scandinavian Outdoor Store, Makia, By Pia’s, Arela, Ozbaby, Globe Hope, gTie, Pure Waste, Ecosto, Apteekkishop, Frenn and Varusteleka.

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UK ecommerce software PureClarity is SaaS solution of the year

PureClarity, an ecommerce personalization software solution from the United Kingdom, has been announced the SaaS solution of the year at the European IT & Software Excellence Awards. PureClarity won the award for its personalized search product, which presents website visitors the most relevant products as they use the search function.

The European IT and Software Excellence Awards are organized by IT Europa and recognizes best practices in customer solutions by systems integrators, value-added resellers, managed service providers and independent software vendors across Europe.

During the evening in London, there were over 86 companies from 21 European countries who were nominated for an award. At the end, PureClarity was one of the winners. The UK software solution earned an award for SaaS solution of the year, designed to recognize the independent software vendor who has most successfully adopted the SaaS model. PureClarity won thanks to its SaaS Personalized Search Product. This solution uses AI, hybrid algorithms and data gathering to present the most relevant results to website visitors as they use the search functions.

Leader in SaaS
“It’s an honour to be recognized as the leader in SaaS amongst so many pioneering European software businesses”, PureClarity’s chief executive Paul Gibson commented. “Our personalized search product has undergone many months of research and development to ensure it sits at the forefront of its marketplace. Winning this award is a real achievement and testament to the hard work undertaken by the whole team.”

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