eBay export barometer – Ebay publishes export figures in France
Cross border ecommerce has experienced a strong growth in France: the volume of exports on Ebay increased by 20% between 2013 and 2017, according to recent figures:
– 99% of French professional salesmen sell internationally.
– The number of French companies exporting for the first time has increased by 31% since 2013.
In recent years, Ebay has succeeded in moving from an auction site to a fixed price site, while maintaining its initial activity. Today, fixed price sales represent more than 80% of Ebay’s business. It’s the same for professional salespeople. We’re pretty far from the private auction platform.
Meeting the desire for good deals is no longer limited by geographical boundaries. Although cross-border trade dates back centuries, actually enabling people to shop across borders remains complex. Both buyers and sellers can face challenges, including regional nuances, and language, shipping and payment disparities.
However, for years now, eBay has been a leader in enabling global trade. Today, cross-border commerce represents a significant share of Ebay’s business.
The last five years have been marked by an unprecedented increase in online exports, as evidenced by data from the first eBay export barometer, leader in online commerce with 171 million active buyers worldwide including more than 4.4 million active buyers in France.
French professional sellers are increasingly exporting their products throughout the world, between 2013 and 2017, those who exported for the first time internationally increased by 31%. They are now 99% to export worldwide. The total value of exports thus increased by 10%. During this period, more than 18 million products were exported.
These exports represent a significant source of income for sellers and participate fully in the French economy.
Among the countries to which the French have exported the most in the last five years are the main European markets such as Great Britain, Germany and Italy, but also the United States, which experienced a 27% growth in export volumes from 2013 to 2017.
Germany remains the preferred export destination for the French ! As for Great Britain, it benefits from the highest growth rate with 54% growth in export volumes, while Germany comes in second place with a 33% increase, followed by Italy with a 30% increase since 2014.
What has been the most sought-after export product category in the last five years? Phones and accessories, of course! They represent nearly 50% of the top selling items on eBay in 2017.
The other most popular export product categories according to the eBay report are :
Art, antiques
Vehicles: spare parts
Collections – Collections
Clothing, accessories
Toys and games
In addition, over the past five years, consumer buying habits have changed significantly and this has also had a direct impact on exports. If in 2013 and 2014, December had the highest sales rate recorded, among other things because it corresponded to the Christmas period, in 2017 the French took it in advance. Black Friday has also become a real phenomenon, so it is the month of November when the export rate was the highest.