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Act before the market
Cross-border online sales are an important growth channel for webshops in Europe’s integrated market. This article examines why certain international sales corridors dominate for e-commerce merchants in five European countries – the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Italy, and Sweden. We analyse the top export markets of webshops in each country (based on provided top-10 destination data) and explore the factors behind these patterns, including geography, language, economic ties, consumer behaviour, and logistics integration. We also benchmark the maturity of each country’s e-commerce sector (webshop density and online-selling share).The goal is to provide European e-commerce professionals with insight into existing cross-border flows and how to leverage them.
Dutch webshops are remarkably outward-looking, with nearby Belgium and Germany as the top destinations for online exports. Belgium tops the list (a large portion of Dutch cross-border orders), thanks in part to shared language (Dutch is spoken in Flanders) and immediate proximity facilitating quick shipping. Likewise, Germany – Europe’s largest e-commerce market – is a close neighbor and a natural target for Dutch retailers. Geographic centrality and excellent logistics infrastructure in the Netherlands (Rotterdam port, Schiphol airport) make it a hub for distributing goods across Western Europe, so Dutch webshops easily serve France, Spain, and Italy as well (ecommercegermany.com). Many Dutch merchants localise in English or multiple languages, leveraging the population’s high foreign language proficiency. These factors, combined with the Netherlands’ high Internet penetration and consumer spending, explain why Dutch online sellers extend their reach broadly into Europe. The cross-border focus is diverse, but the Benelux and adjacent EU markets dominate Dutch e-commerce exports.
German webshops tend to have a more regional cross-border focus, reflecting Germany’s huge domestic market which somewhat lessens reliance on exports. Nevertheless, German retailers mainly ship to German-speaking neighbours, especially Austria (the top export market) and Switzerland, as well as the Benelux countries (ecdb.com). Austria’s shared German language and culture make it a natural extension of the domestic market, and indeed over half of Austria’s cross-border e-shopping is from Germany (ecdb.com), illustrating this tight linkage. Similarly, a high share of Luxembourg’s online imports come from German sites (ecdb.com), aligning with Germany listing Luxembourg among its top export destinations. Beyond these, German e-sellers target large EU economies like France, Italy and Spain, but volumes there are lower relative to Germany’s size. Geographic proximity and EU single-market ties play a key role – Germany’s neighbours (Austria, Netherlands, France, Poland, Denmark, etc.) comprise most of its top 10 export markets. While Germany has the most e-commerce sales in Europe, its cross-border activity (in percentage terms) is more modest than smaller countries’, as its home market is very self-sufficient. Still, German webshops capitalise on being in the center of Europe by serving nearby countries with minimal barriers.
Denmark’s online retailers are highly oriented toward Nordic and nearby EU markets. The top export destination is Sweden, Denmark’s neighbour across the Øresund bridge, reflecting strong regional integration. Danish merchants benefit from cultural and linguistic affinities within Scandinavia (Danish and Swedish are mutually intelligible to a degree), and importantly from a merged postal network (PostNord) that eases Denmark–Sweden deliveries. Germany is the second-most common destination for Danish webshops – a logical outcome of geographic adjacency and Germany’s market size. Other top targets include the Netherlands, France, and Belgium, indicating Danish online retailers don’t confine themselves to Scandinavia. High English proficiency in Denmark and use of international e-commerce platforms enable even small Danish webshops to sell into distant European markets. Finland and Norway also appear in Danish sellers’ top corridors, consistent with a Nordic e-commerce cluster. In sum, proximity and regional ties drive much of Denmark’s cross-border trade, but Danish companies’ agility and the necessity to grow beyond a small domestic market push them to court major economies across Europe as well.
Swedish webshops likewise show a strong Nordic focus coupled with EU-wide reach. Denmark and Finland rank among the top export markets for Sweden’s online retailers, owing to Sweden’s position bridging Nordic neighbours (and sharing a land border with Finland). Cross-border commerce within the Nordics is bolstered by relatively aligned consumer habits and the prevalence of English, though language differences (Swedish vs. Finnish) still pose some barrier. Sweden’s list of top e-commerce export destinations also features Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, and Belgium, mirroring a broad Western European outreach similar to Denmark’s. Sweden’s e-merchants benefit from being in one of Europe’s most digitally mature societies, and they leverage efficient logistics links (for example, ferry routes and international carriers) to serve far-flung customers. Still, the easiest wins are nearby: Denmark alone accounts for a significant share of Swedish cross-border online sales, exemplifying how regional integration (e.g. PostNord’s bi-national network) underpins cross-border e-commerce in Scandinavia.
Italian webshops, operating in a large but traditionally less digitized market, concentrate their cross-border sales on Europe’s biggest economies and nearby countries. Germany is the number-one export destination for Italian online sellers by volume, followed closely by France and Spain, which together account for a large majority of Italy’s e-commerce exports (amavat.eu). This reflects both geographic proximity (France and Austria border Italy, and Germany is just beyond the Alps) and strong demand for Italian products (e.g. fashion, design, food) in wealthier EU markets. Austria is another key corridor (benefiting from adjacency and a shared German-language business environment), and neighbors Switzerland and Slovenia (not in the top-ten list provided, but likely significant) also draw Italian exports. Interestingly, Northern European markets like the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Poland appear among Italy’s top export destinations as well – indicating that Italian brands have appeal across Europe despite distance. Italy’s cross-border e-commerce has been surging in recent years, growing its share of total online turnover from ~29% to 39% between 2019 and 2022 (amavat.eu). However, Italian webshops are relatively fewer per capita, so much of this cross-border activity is driven by a subset of competitive firms (often via marketplaces). In summary, Italy’s e-commerce exports gravitate toward large EU consumer markets and nearby neighbors, leveraging Italy’s renowned products, even as the domestic e-commerce sector catches up in maturity.
Despite national nuances, these five countries share some common patterns. Neighboring countries dominate cross-border e-commerce flows in many cases – a classic gravity effect where shorter distances, lower shipping costs, and familiar cultures facilitate trade. For example, the Netherlands-Belgium, Germany-Austria, and Denmark-Sweden corridors are all top-ranked, underscoring the importance of geographic proximity and shared language or cultural ties. This aligns with research finding that even online, distance and cultural/language factors still significantly impact trade (though less than offline) (econstor.eu). Additionally, all five nations see major EU economies (Germany, France, Spain) in their export mix. These large markets are attractive targets due to their sheer number of online shoppers – Germany and France are among Europe’s top destinations for cross-border e-commerce imports (ecommercegermany.com). In fact, German consumers are so pivotal that every country’s webshops list Germany as a top-3 foreign market (except Germany itself), and German shoppers account for a sizeable share of many neighbour's’ online sales (ecdb.com).
However, there are clear differences in scope. The smaller, digitally advanced countries (Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden) tend to export to a broader array of markets across Europe, reflecting their need to go global to scale beyond limited domestic populations. Their top-10 lists include more distant EU distinations – enabled by strong English usage and pan-European platforms. In contrast, Germany and Italy (the larger markets) show a relatively more regional focus, concentrating on immediate neighbors and a few key economies. German webshops’ cross-border sales are more regionalized (e.g. mostly EU neighbors), and Italy’s exports tilt heavily to Western Europe (with limited Nordic focus). Another difference is the reciprocity of corridors: e.g. Denmark and Sweden mutually rank each other very high, whereas Italy and Germany have an asymmetry (Italy relies on Germany more than Germany on Italy). This hints at differing product specializations and consumer preferences driving flows one way more than the other. Finally, language plays a part – shared language pairs (Dutch-Flemish, German-Austrian, Scandinavian languages) clearly boost mutual e-commerce, whereas language barriers can limit cross-border reach unless sellers localise (which not all Italian or German SMEs do as readily as Nordics). Overall, all five countries leverage the borderless EU market, but the extent of their reach and the partners they prioritize vary with their size, culture, and e-commerce sophistication.
The strength of a country’s e-commerce sector underpins its cross-border capabilities. Two useful indicators are the number of webshops per capita and the share of companies engaging in online sales. Below is a brief benchmark of the five countries:
Even as shipments cross borders, the “last mile” must cater to local preferences. Logistics firms should note that a Danish package destined for Sweden or a Dutch package to France will require localised last-mile handling – from language-specific notifications to preferred delivery methods (locker pickup, home delivery culture, etc.). Adapting delivery options to the recipient country’s norms increases success. For instance, offering Pakketboxen or parcel lockers in the Netherlands/Belgium, home delivery with SMS coordination in Germany, or convenient pickup points in Sweden/Denmark can improve customer experience. Cross-border delivery success is not just about moving goods across distance, but also navigating the “last kilometre” in a foreign context. Providers may need to coordinate returns handling across borders as well, given high return rates in e-commerce – setting up return logistics in the top destination countries can be a competitive advantage for carriers serving exporters.
In conclusion, understanding these dominant cross-border sales channels allows logistics and last-mile providers to align their networks with e-commerce trade flows. By focusing resources on key routes, integrating services regionally, and tailoring last-mile delivery to each market’s needs, providers can improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. The European e-commerce landscape is increasingly interconnected – especially within regional clusters – and logistics firms that adapt to these patterns will be well-positioned to serve both the booming cross-border volumes and the merchants driving them. Ultimately, the continued growth of cross-border e-commerce (nearly €171 billion in Europe in 2021, or ~25.5% of online revenue (ecommercenews.eu)) relies on frictionless logistics. Providers who innovate on these busy corridors will not only reduce costs but also strengthen the entire e-commerce ecosystem across Europe’s borders.
Last‑mile delivery shapes the online shopping experience, influencing conversion rates, repeat purchases and brand perception.
At Tembi, we analysed over 600,000 webshops to understand two aspects of last‑mile competition in 17 European markets, the market share of the top delivery provider and the number of distinct delivery partners each webshop integrates, and how these factors drive innovation and strategy.
Rather than estimating parcel volumes, we examined the presence of delivery providers in webshop back‑ends. Every integration represents a commitment by the webshop to offer that carrier at checkout. By counting integrations, we capture:
• Breadth of choice available to consumers
• Carrier prominence within each market
For each country - from Belgium to Slovakia - we identified the top three providers by share of webshop integrations and counted the total number of providers in active use. We excluded providers that have less than 1% market presence.
These figures show that while national postal services still lead in many markets, no single carrier dominates everywhere, and the number of options ranges from three providers in Iceland to more than twenty in the Netherlands.
We classify markets by the checkout presence held by the leading provider:
Adding the count of distinct delivery partners shows where compeition is the hightst:
Most fragmented markets, such as the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden, offer webshops a broad selection of carriers to tailor delivery options by region, price‑point and service level. In the Netherlands, for instance, there are over twenty distinct last‑mile providers active across the market. By contrast, in Iceland and Bulgaria webshops have fewer providers to choose from, simplifying management but concentrating risk, and less consumer choice. Finland sits between these extremes, with around fourteen partners in use yet Posti being present in 62% of all webshop checkouts.
Geography plays a crucial role in shaping last‑mile dynamics. In countries with vast rural areas and archipelagos - most notably Finland and Sweden - webshops need delivery partners that can reliably serve both remote villages and dense urban centres. National posts excel at this: Posti’s 62 percent presence in Finland and PostNord’s 33 percent in Sweden reflect their ability to cover every corner of the country, from Lapland to the Helsinki suburbs, or from the Stockholm archipelago to the far north. This extensive network cements their leadership and makes it challenging for smaller couriers to compete on a truly national scale.
At the same time, urban populations in these markets demand faster and more flexible options. That’s why even highly consolidated markets like Finland still see around fourteen delivery partners in use, and Sweden nearly eighteen. Specialist providers focus on city‑centre same‑day deliveries, parcel locker networks and niche eco‑services, carving out space alongside the national postal incumbent.
By contrast, in highly fragmented markets such as the Netherlands, Italy and Romania, geography is less of a barrier - population density is higher and distances shorter - so webshops routinely offer 18 to 22 different providers to meet varied consumer preferences. National posts such as PostNL and Poste Italiane must innovate continually, rolling out premium services like carbon‑neutral shipping, click‑and‑collect lockers and advanced tracking, and partnering with crowd‑shipping or on‑demand couriers to fill gaps.
In moderately consolidated markets - Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and the Baltics - the mix reflects mid‑range geography and market size. National posts share the stage with regional specialists (such as GLS and DPD), driving innovation in service differentiation, tech integration and sustainability (electric fleets, bike couriers, offset programmes).
Finally, in smaller or more remote markets like Iceland and Bulgaria, webshops often layer core postal services with a handful (three to five) of local same‑day or on‑demand couriers to ensure coverage. Even here, national posts are expanding parcel‑locker footprints and app‑based tracking to meet rising consumer expectations - while keeping a watchful eye towards rapidly growing new digital-first ventures.
Understanding these overlapping factors - market consolidation, provider fragmentation and geographic realities - allows e‑commerce leaders to tailor last‑mile strategies. In widespread, low‑density regions, deep partnerships with national posts ensure full coverage; in dense, competitive markets, robust multi‑carrier technology and innovative niche services deliver the flexibility consumers expect.
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or e-commerce consumers, delivery costs often represent the final hurdle before completing a purchase. Set too high, delivery fees can drive potential buyers away; priced competitively, they can boost conversions and foster customer loyalty. At Tembi, we closely track these shifts, monitoring what webshops across Europe charge consumers for different delivery methods.
We analysed webshop delivery pricing data across nine markets from October 2024 to March 2025, examining variations across three key delivery methods: parcel box, parcel shop, and home delivery.
Over 300.000 webshops are part of this analysis and we've removed the outliers when calculatin average deliver prices (free delivery and delivery of large and/or heavy objects).
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Parcel boxes have become a popular choice due to convenience and lower operational costs. However, pricing varied significantly:
Parcel shops offer flexibility for consumers who prefer to pick up orders at convenient locations:
Home delivery remains the premium service and is generally priced highest:
These shifts in delivery prices reveal strategic decisions by webshops rather than direct changes in logistics provider pricing. Webshops balance several factors:
For commercial leaders in e-commerce, understanding these pricing strategies is critical. Lower delivery prices may indicate aggressive market positioning or efficiency gains, while increases might signal tighter operational conditions or reduced competition.
Webshop delivery pricing is a powerful indicator of market conditions and consumer expectations. Regular monitoring of these shifts is essential to stay competitive and agile - regardless if you're a retailer selling directrly or inderictly, or operate a last-mile delivery provider.
hen we talk about e-commerce opportunity, the conversation often starts, and ends, with the size of a market. How many webshops are there? Which countries have the highest absolute numbers?
At Tembi, we believe that raw totals only tell part of the story. To really understand where e-commerce is thriving, and where it’s just starting to take hold, you need to look at density, digital integration, and market readiness.
We recently analysed data across 20+ European countries, looking not only at total webshop numbers but how they compare to population size and national business ecosystems.
Some of the results are surprising:
Knowing how many webshops exist per capita or per company tells us more than just the size of the e-commerce sector. It signals how deeply online sales are embedded into the economy.
For commercial teams, this is essential context. Are you entering a market where most companies already sell online? Or one where there’s room to help businesses go digital? Are you facing established competitors, or discovering a still-fragmented field?
This kind of intelligence can shape your go-to-market plan, sales motions, and even your product localisation strategy.
In short: don’t just look at the number of webshops. Look at who they serve, how they scale, and how densely they operate within the economy. Because the future of e-commerce isn’t just about growth -it’s about depth, integration, and staying power.
hen evaluating market opportunities, many look at total size. But total size doesn’t tell you where momentum is building. New webshop creation - and survival - is often a better indicator.
Despite being considered mature digital markets, across Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Iceland, 9,200 new webshops were launched in 2024 that are still active today. That’s not total launches, that’s survivors - which gives a better sense of which markets are currently supporting new players.
This challenges conventional wisdom about market saturation and highlights untapped opportunities in the region.
Sweden leads with the strongest growth, showing a 42% increase in the number of newly launched webshops that remain active compared to the previous year. Close behind is Denmark, with a 39% year-on-year growth. These figures suggest that both markets are currently fertile ground for e-commerce newcomers, despite heightened competition and shifting consumer behaviour.
Finland and Iceland also recorded positive, albeit more modest, developments. Finland saw a 14% increase in surviving new webshops, while Iceland posted 13% growth. These numbers may not be as dramatic as Denmark or Sweden, but they still point to a healthy pace of new market entrants that are finding ways to stay afloat.
Norway, by contrast , is the only market that moved in the opposite direction. Here, the number of newly launched webshops that remained active declined by 2% compared to the previous year. While not a steep drop, it stands out in a region otherwise trending upwards. This downturn was primarily concentrated in one category - Beauty & personal care - which appears to have experienced a wave of closures (more details on this in our previous blog post available here).
The contrast between countries suggests that, even within a shared economic region, local market dynamics and category-specific pressures can lead to different outcomes.
At first glance, it may seem contradictory: high closure rates alongside a surge in new webshop launches. Between August 2024 and February 2025, over 3,300 Danish webshops ceased activity. That’s 11% of the total market, gone in just six months. This might suggest a market in retreat struggling with saturation. But the full picture tells a different story.
In the very same period, 2,645 new webshops were successfully launched and remained operational. These aren’t just test stores or dormant domains. These are active webshops that made it past the initial setup phase and into actual trade.
One of the more common assumptions about Nordic e-commerce is that the market is saturated. With strong category leaders and high consumer expectations, it can appear that there is little room left for new entrants. However, the consistent entries of still active webshops launched in 2024 challenges that thinking.
These are not just short-lived experiments or weekend projects. They are businesses that have managed to find customers, generate sales, and carve out a place in the market.
In addition, sustainability is playing an increasingly influential role in shaping consumer choices. According to PostNord’s 2024 report, 8 out of 10 Nordic shoppers consider sustainability when making purchases. This creates space for newcomers with strong brand values, circular business models, or second-hand offerings, which are becoming more popular particularly in fashion.
This also presents strategic opportunities for established brands. The new entrants create a pipeline of potential partners, collaborators or acquisition targets. For incumbents, this is a chance to stay ahead of the curve by aligning early with brands that may become the next category leaders.
For entrepreneurs, the lesson is that everything is still very much possible. While competition is strong, the path to growth remains open to those with a clear proposition answering real customer needs. Differentiation, specialization, and a willingness to build something that doesn’t look like everything else on the market will again prove to be key advantages.
Rather than signaling saturation the current trends reflect a dynamic market. New players continue to reshape what is possible, and the space for innovation remains open.
At Tembi, we track over 600,000 webshops across Europe, updating our database bi-weekly to gather historical data and monitor the development of each webshop.
Most of us can name the biggest online retailers—but what about the thousands of smaller webshops that make up the real fabric of e-commerce? In Denmark alone, a country of just under six million people, there are over 30,000 webshops actively selling products online. And if we include service-based and other categories, the number climbs beyond 40,000.
That prompted us to ask: how many of these webshops are actually surviving?
By comparing webshop and company data from August 2024 to February 2025, Tembi identified over 3,300 webshops that had ceased activity. That represents 11% of the total market - a significant churn, even if mostly made up of small to medium-sized players.
In the last 6 months in Denmark:
This does not signal an 11% drop in e-commerce overall, but it does indicate high volatility - particularly among smaller players.
Looking at category distribution, Clothes and Shoes make up 13.2% of all Danish webshops, followed by Furniture at 10.2%.
When we analysed closures, the category that took the biggest hit was also Clothes & Shoes, with 530 webshops closed - accounting for 16% of all closures. Beauty & Personal Care and Furniture followed, with around 170 closures each.
This aligns with overall category size: more webshops in a category generally mean more closures. But fashion clearly over-indexes in both size and risk.
Fashion e-commerce is fiercely competitive. Dominated by global players and shaped by constantly shifting consumer preferences, it also faces the operational challenge of seasonal inventory cycles.
To stand out, local brands need a differentiated marketing approach. But with advertising costs rising sharply, that’s easier said than done. It’s not uncommon for B2C fashion stores to increase their spend by 20% just to maintain business-as-usual - often still being outbid by global giants. This forces a tough choice: either reach fewer customers or spend at unsustainable levels.
Add to this the so-called Temu effect. Chinese dropshipping marketplaces like Temu use aggressive, loss-leading strategies to offer ultra-low prices. Danish webshops can’t compete without sacrificing quality or profitability. Even environmentally conscious shoppers can be swayed by endless product options at rock-bottom prices.
Each of these pressures is significant on its own. Together, they create a perfect storm of market conditions that are difficult for local fashion players to survive.
While furniture hasn’t been hit by dropshipping platforms in the same way, it faces a different challenge: logistics.
Shipping large, heavy items is expensive. Rising freight costs in 2024 made margins even tighter. Add in the complexities of delivery windows, assembly services, and returns, and it becomes tough for smaller players to compete with established brands that can absorb those costs or optimise operations at scale.
While we can't say shipping prices are solely to blame for rising closure rates in this category, they are a critical factor impacting profitability.
With over 50% of Danish consumers buying clothing online, and nearly 40% purchasing shoes, these categories are massively popular—and saturated.
Not every webshop can survive in such a crowded, price-sensitive market. Despite relative economic stability, consumer confidence in Denmark remains cautious. Reports from BCG and Nordea show low discretionary spending, which hits fashion and beauty especially hard.
An 11% closure rate may sound alarming, but it’s not entirely surprising. Tools like Shopify and WooCommerce have made it incredibly easy to launch a webshop - sometimes in less than a day. But low barriers to entry also mean low resilience. The easier it is to start, the easier it is to fail.
While a few large retailers have gone under, our data suggests that the majority of closures come from small and medium-sized businesses.
Still, it’s not all bad news. Over the same period, 2,645 new webshops were successfully launched. So while the market is churning, it’s also replenishing.
E-commerce is dynamic, and understanding it requires continuous tracking. At Tembi, we monitor 600,000+ webshops across Europe, updating our database bi-weekly. This enables us to:
Because in a market that never stands still, real-time intelligence is your competitive edge.
e’re excited to share that Tembi has officially launched in Germany, bringing our e-commerce intelligence to one of Europe's largest markets. With Germany now on board, Tembi covers 17 markets, offering commercial teams actionable insights to drive strategic decisions and accelerate growth.
At Tembi, our approach goes beyond basic data collection. Over the past month, our system has visited and analysed more than 500,000 websites, systematically verifying each one. Through this process, we identified and validated over 94,800 genuine, operating webshops - ensuring that our insights are based on high-quality, accurate data. Each webshop is individually assessed, capturing detailed insights into their operations, product offerings, and category performance. This level of precision provides commercial teams with unmatched visibility into Germany’s e-commerce landscape, helping them pinpoint exactly where to focus their efforts - whether strengthening their local presence or expanding internationally.
Our robust intelligence monitors the technology stack of webshops, including commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, Shopware, ePages,AVADA, and Magento, as well as other software solutions they use. This empowers businesses with clear insights to strategically optimise their tech infrastructure and drive growth.
Tembi’s comprehensive analysis of the German market includes:
• Last-mile delivery marketshare - identifying logistics providers, delivery methods and prices for every webshop.
• Tracking of payment providers used by webshops, including PayPal, Klarna, Google Pay, Apple Pay,Sofort, Shopify Pay, ShopPay, and Opay (and many others).
• Webshop growth data andproduct sold, revealing emerging market trends and growth opportunities.
This launch highlights Tembi's dedication to delivering verified, actionable e-commerce intelligence that helps commercial teams proactively identify growth potential and optimise their strategies in Germany and beyond.
Keep an eye out for future updates, insights, and trends straight from Europe's e-commerce hub.
Want to know more? Reach out to our sales team.
Clerk.io is a leading e-commerce personalisation platform, helping thousands of webshops optimise their customer experience through tailored product recommendations, search, and email personalisation.
Clerk.io needed to address two main challenges:
Christian, Head of Lead Generation at Clerk.io, explained: “We were looking for a solution to scan markets and get a clear understanding of their potential. At the same time, we needed to ensure the leads we pursued met specific criteria, like being transactional webshops. Our previous provider couldn’t consistently deliver on these fronts.”
Clerk.io turned to Tembi to tackle these challenges. With Tembi's market data & intelligence, the team gained access to:
Christian highlighted the impact: “Tembi gave us a market feeling. For example, in Norway and Sweden, we could see the potential and decide if this was something we should double down on. The data helped us make informed decisions about where to focus our sales efforts. And 98% of the leads we identified via Tembi were qualified, allowing us to focus on high-quality opportunities without loosing time on irrelevant prospects.”
1. More Accurate Leads. By leveraging Tembi's validation process and advanced filtering tools, Clerk.io increased the accuracy of its leads.Only 1% were unqualified, and another 1% didn’t match the ICP criteria.
2. Time savings. Manual qualification time was massively reduced, allowing the team to allocate resources more effectively.
3. Market viability assessments. Clerk.io used Tembi to assess markets likeNorway and Sweden, deciding where to prioritise their efforts for maximum growth potential.
“Tembi made qualifying leads less time-consuming, and the time savings alone justified the investment,” said Peter, Head of Marketing at Clerk.io.’
Beyond the technical aspects, Clerk.io found their collaboration with Tembi to be seamless and productive. Peter Tullin, CMO at Clerk concluded: “We’ve been very happy with Tembi. It was a seamless collaboration, and their local Copenhagen office made it even easier to work together.”
hen starting a webshop, you have two options: build a custom site from scratch or choose a ready-to-go commerce platform to manage inventory and sell products or services online. Given that webshops have existed since the early days of the internet, there are now numerous providers catering to both entrepreneurs and established businesses.
A variety of commerce platforms power European webshops, from large international providers like Shopify and WooCommerce to smaller local specialists such as Dandomain in Denmark and Voog in Estonia. Larger platforms often offer the benefits of scale, while local providers might offer specialized solutions and compliance with regional regulations that enhance scalability.
Choosing the right platform is not just important for those building webshops, but also for the ecosystem surrounding commerce platforms. Not all plug-ins and solutions are compatible with every framework, and understanding a platform’s market penetration can be a strong indicator of its success and investment in that region.
In this article, we take a deep dive into the most widely used commerce platforms across 10 European markets, examining which solutions are the most popular. It’s likely no surprise that Shopify and WordPress’s open-source WooCommerce plugin dominate, but who are the other key players?
Looking at Switzerland, The Netherlands, Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia we’ve identified a total of 242.061 active webshops. With over 100.479 webshops, or 32%, Shopify is trailing behind WooCommerce with 9%. Looking at these 10 markets, WooCommerce is today the preferred e-commerce platform with around 129.480 webshops.
The fact that we only identified 6.682 custom-built webshops (2,1% of the dataset), shows just how powerful commerce platforms are today, where both large and small webshops can benefit from the platform's investments in technology and solutions that make it easy, and possible, to operate and grow a business online.
Before diving into the specifics of each market’s platform penetration, let’s quickly explain how we gather and maintain the quality of this data.
Monitoring hundreds of thousands of webshops on an ongoing basis demands a robust validation process to maintain high-quality data. At Tembi, we automatically filter out inactive webshops, businesses in bankruptcy, and webshops not registered as official companies, and we can only to this by actually visiting the webshops and analyze their operations continuously. We’re not B2B lead list generation company per se, but our data is used by many companies to improve sales and help identify business opportunities.
Once the validation process is complete, and we’ve analyized the webshops products, our system categorizes each webshop into a product category and enriches the data with for example website traffic data and company data.
If you're interested in learning more about how our technology works, be sure to check out our article: Insights from every Webshop on the Market
Having looked how the distribution looks over 10 European countries, let’s examine which E-Commerce platforms are popular in each country and see what insights we can uncover into regional preferences and market trends.
In Denmark, we can find a total of 32.720 webshops. We have identified that 13.567 webshops are built using WooCommerce, and 11.703 are built with Shopify. Just as it also shows in the picture of the ten European markets, WooCommerce and Shopify power the majority of the webshops. The remaining 24% (7.450 webshops) utilize various other providers. With 2.164 webshops, Dandomain stands as the third most used platform in Denmark, likely due to its local roots and strong integration with popular hosting services in the country.
Estonia has a total of 8.568 webshops, with WooCommerce as the clear market leader. WooCommerce is used by 5.846 webshops, representing 68% of all Estonian market. In second place, like in most markets, Shopify follows, but with only 9% of the market, totaling 739 webshops. WooCommerce’s strong presence in Estonia gives it the highest market share in the group of the analysed countries. In third place we find the local e-commerce platform, Estonian Voog, powering 570 webshops. Voog offers native language support and is perfect for small to medium-sized companies, which could also explain why WooCommerce owns such a big portion of the market.
The remaining 23% of E-Commerces, without the ones using WooCommerce and Shopify, are built using various other providers (1.983 webshops).
Finland has a total of 15.092 webshops, with WooCommerce and Shopify being the market leaders. 6.953 webshops in Finland use WooCommerce (45% of the Finnish market), while Shopify is used by 4.014 webshops, accounting for a 26% market share.
The remaining 28% (4,125 webshops) utilize various other providers. Notably, 644 webshops (5% of the market) are custom-built, highlighting a segment of businesses opting for fully tailored E-Commerce solution. With a strong tech and design culture, Finnish businesses likely leverage local expertise to create bespoke solutions cater directly to their target market. MyCashFlow, a Finnish E-Commerce Platform, is the third most used one in the country, accounting with 1.327 webshops, a 9% of the total.
There are 4.903 webshops in Latvia. Of this number, 1.841 webshops are built with WooCommerce (37% of Latvian webshops) and 1.201 webshops are built with Shopify (24%). The other 1.861 webshops (38%) use different providers.
Lithuania has a total of 12.077 webshops, with WooCommerce as the most popular platform, powering 6.568 stores, or 55% of the market. Shopify is the second most used (2.198 webshops) making up 18% of Lithuanian online stores. The remaining 26% (3.311 webshops) use various other providers, with PrestaShop ranking third, supporting 1.506 webshops and capturing 12% of the market. As we can see, PrestaShop ranks very closely to Shopify. We see how two Lithuanian E-Commerce platforms, such as Shopiteka and Verskis, are too the most used ones.
The Netherlands have a highly developed E-Commerce market with 81.224 webshops. WooCommerce has by far most clients, powering 38,316 stores, or 46% of all online shops. Shopify follows with 21,534 webshops, accounting for 26% of the market. The remaining 27%, or 21.374 stores, are distributed across various other providers.
Norway has an E-Commerce market with 13.469 webshops. WooCommerce leads the way, powering 5.346 webshops, or 39% of the market. Shopify is a close second, used by 4.931 webshops, making up 36% of the market. The remaining 24%, or 3.192 webshops, utilize various other providers. The competition between Shopify and WooCommerce is tight in Norway, with only 415 webshops more (a 3%) built with the latter. The third one is MyStore, an E-Commerce provider created in Norway.
There are 15.429 webshops in Slovakia. WooCommerce leads the market, powering 6.399 of these webshops, accounting for 41%. Shoptet follows with 3.502 webshops, making up 22% of the market. The remaining 36%, or 5.528 webshops, are built using a variety of other providers. Slovakia’s case is specially interesting, as Shopify is not the second choice. In its place we find Shoptet, a Czech platform that offers marketplace integrations to the Central European market. This can be relevant for companies looking to increase visibility and brand recognition in the region.
Sweden's E-Commerce landscape is strong, with a total of 31.588 webshops. WooCommerce has a solid position on the market, powering 13.293 of these stores, or 39%, showcasing its popularity among Swedish businesses. Shopify isn’t far behind, with 11.354 webshops, making up 34% of the market. The other 6.941 webshops, representing 26%, use a variety of different providers. We find similar data in Norway, the competition between WooCommerce and Shopify is close, with only a 4% market share of difference (roughly 2.000 webshops).
Switzerland is home to 26.991 webshops, with WooCommerce and Shopify leading the market. 12.168 of these webshops are built with WooCommerce (45% market share), making it the most popular E-Commerce platform in the country. Shopify follows closely, with 9.841 webshops, representing 36% of the market. The remaining 19% (4.739 webshops) are built using different providers. Of the most used platforms in Switzerland, only PepperShop is Swiss company.
The data from analyzing 242.061 webshops confirms that WooCommerce and Shopify hold a dominant position, commanding 73% of the market share. Breaking this dominance is no easy task, as it would not only require mass migration but also new solutions that offer greater value than the globally leading commerce platforms.
However, despite the dominance of these major providers, there are still over 80.000 webshops using other frameworks. For instance, with over 15,000 webshops on PrestaShop and more than 13,000 using Magento, there remains a significant opportunity to develop plug-ins and solutions for these platforms.
Whether you're developing plug-ins or building software reliant on specific frameworks, understanding your total addressable market (TAM) is a key indicator of potential and helps determine if an investment is worthwhile. Additionally, knowing how different markets are penetrated provides insights into where to focus future sales and marketing efforts. The more data you have, the better informed your decisions will be.
If you’re interested in more data around the webshops, don’t hesitate to contact us on hello@tembi.io. We are adding more countries continuously so sign up for our newsletter to get the latest updates.
s we approach the year's final quarter, the stakes for last-mile delivery companies couldn't be higher. With the majority of revenue generated from B2C webshops, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the Christmas season represent crucial opportunities to maximise profits.
However, preparation for these peak periods involves more than ramping up staff, fine-tuning routing, and increasing throughput.
At Tembi, having helped over 40 last-mile providers across Europe, we understand that strategic planning on the commercial side can make or break your Q4 performance. To help you in the process we have collected a five of our key learnings on the topic.
Instead of focusing solely on acquiring new clients, ensure you're optimally positioned with your existing ones. Monitoring your position in their checkout process can yield significant returns. Being positioned as the top delivery provider at the delivery checkout can dramatically increase the number of orders you receive, often doubling or even tripling them.
From several of our Last-mile delivery clients, we have witnessed an average of 30%-50% increase in top-1 rankings working tactically with this. Typically, this amounts to a total increase of 20%- 33% in revenue from the existing client base!
Strategic client acquisition is essential. Focus on attracting webshops that boast a strong infrastructure, high order volumes, and the right geographical locations that align with your logistics.
These targeted efforts can significantly enhance your profit margins and operational efficiency.
On the other hand, failing to identify the clients that are right for you means losing time and money on unsuccessful outreach, attending irrelevant meetings, and seeing your closing rate decline. And even worse, potentially attracting a non-profitable client for your business.
Market research or a good market insight & sales intelligence tool will help ensuring you target the right clients. More is not always better.
Understand where you stand out compared to your competitors and highlight your unique selling points to differentiate yourself in a crowded market. Are your delivery times faster? Do you offer more sustainable options? Is your service reliability superior?
Tembi’s E-commerce Market Intelligence solution provides users with a comprehensive, data-driven market overview. This enables last-mile delivery companies to understand their performance and how they measure up against competitors. Our data not only visualises your strengths but also serves as credible evidence of your advantages.
Combining this data with comprehensive insights into each webshop in your market provides a significant advantage in sales meetings. You can tailor your pitch using up-to-date information, demonstrating how your solution will enhance the delivery experience for your customers' clients. This personalised approach showcases the specific benefits and improvements your service offers, making a compelling case for why your company is the best choice.
Q4 is a vulnerable time for webshops, where faulty shipments and slow deliveries can be extremely costly. Success often stems from a partnership approach between webshops and last-mile providers.
Engage deeply with your clients to ensure they see you as a trusted partner they can rely on during these critical periods.
In essence, this is where you want your sales and account management team to spend the majority of their time, which can be enabled by strong processes and the right tools/technologies to help your team be even more efficient.
Effective planning and execution require time, structured outreach, and meticulous account management. There is no easy way. The sooner you start, the better positioned you'll be to capitalise on the high season's opportunities. The time is now – not in October.
At Tembi, we bring years of experience in delivering market insights and partnership services that drive success.
Our market intelligence solutions provide last-mile delivery companies with continuously updated data and insights into webshops, delivery provider rankings, export markets, technology usage, product categories, and much more - allowing companies to react swiftly to changes, maintain top rankings, and increase revenue from their existing client base.
We tailor our supportive services to each client's needs, and we would love nothing more than to set up a free, non-committal session to discover how our e-commerce market intelligence solution could help your business achieve its revenue goals—both in Q4 and throughout the year.
