Growth in the French online sector had been slowing in recent years, up by around 12% in 2019 we estimate to reach €46.5 billon. This was equivalent to 8% of the whole retail sector, a figure that we expect to increase as the COVID-19 epidemic boosts growth in online shopping. The e-commerce market in France is quite unique, with the grocery sector dominated by the Drive click and collect model, which has recently been developed to include a new concept, the ‘pedestrian drive, a click-and-collect model for town centres. We’ve started to see an acceleration of home delivery in grocery and Monoprix launched its Ocado-assisted service during the lockdown. Leading grocer Carrefour has put e-commerce at the heart of its transformation plan, and domestic pureplayer Cdiscount continues to apply a brake on Amazon’s rise. Amazon is the market leader, but less dominant than in other countries and it has faced various challenges from government and consumers.

• The impact of COVID-19 on consumer behaviour and the online retail market

• How the market will fare in the post-COVID-19 slowdown

• What people buy online

• The performance of the major online retailers in 2019

• Online shopping behaviours and what consumers look for in online retailers.

This report is designed to give an overview of the French online retail market. This includes a look at the market including forecasts for future developments, in-depth consumer analysis using our own data and a section on the key players in the market including our company profiles.

For our consumer research this year we asked questions on the following topics:

• Which products consumers have bought online in the last 12 months

• Frequency of shopping online

• The retailers used for online shopping in the last 12 months.

• Attitudes to different features of shopping online.