The Czech Republic is the fastest growing ecommerce market in Europe as mature markets such as the UK, France and Germany begin to slow down, according to a report.
The 2019 Global Payments Trends Report by J.P. Morgan projected a compound annual growth rate of 16% for the Czech Republic between 2017 and 2021, the highest of the 34 countries analysed.
Italy and Spain, with growth of 14% and 13.5% respectively, were the next fastest-growing ecommerce markets.
The report found that the UK’s ecommerce market continued to dwarf those of other European countries, with a total size of €178.5 billion and growth of 9%.
This was followed by France and Germany, with respective market sizes of €81.7 billion and €73 billion and growth of 10.5% and 7.3%.
The report also highlighted the phenomenal growth of mobile as a shopping method. The Czech Republic also had the highest percentage of ecommerce spend over mobile at 54% of the value of transactions. The UK followed with 51% of ecommerce spend taking place over mobile.
“Ecommerce growth as a whole across the European region remains strong. It is slowing slightly in more mature markets such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany. However, a number of smaller markets present compelling opportunities.
“Of the 18 European countries we examined, 10 are projected to enjoy double-digit ecommerce market expansion between now and 2021,” said Catherine Moore, MD and president for Europe at J.P. Morgan Merchant Services.
