The Implications of Brexit for UK and EU B2C E-Commerce 2019

Brexit’s Impact on European B2C E-Commerce Revealed in Report

Cross-border E-Commerce to be affected by Brexit
The UK is the world’s third-largest online retail market, and the top market in Europe. The looming Brexit on 31 January 2020 is expected to have significant consequences for regional and domestic B2C E-Commerce. In particular, a no-deal Brexit could negatively affect cross-border online exports of UK sellers to the EU, as online shoppers would refrain from buying internationally if additional costs apply after checkout, according to the survey data cited in the report. At the same time, non-EU destinations are already more popular among UK online shoppers when buying cross-border, and their lead over EU sellers could strengthen after Brexit.

E-Commerce could increase its share of UK retail thanks to Brexit
As another potential consequence, Brexit could help E-Commerce gain an even higher share of overall retail sales in the UK, already reaching above one-fifth, according to some estimates referenced in the report. Weaker demand for non-food items as a result of consumers’ worries over the outcome of Brexit hit store-based retail more severely than it did E-Commerce. By 2023, more than one-quarter of UK’s overall retail sales could be online.

Report Coverage

• This report focuses on the implications of Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, or Brexit, for B2C E-Commerce in the UK and the EU.
• A broad definition of retail E-Commerce used by some original sources cited in this report might include both B2C and C2C E-Commerce.

Report Structure

• The report starts with a qualitative overview of Brexit and its potential impact on the B2C E-Commerce market in the UK. In addition, a brief summary of selected major EU regulations relating to E-Commerce in the context of Brexit is included.
• Afterwards, a snapshot of the B2C E-Commerce market in the UK is provided, including E-Commerce sales projections, the E-Commerce share of total retail sales, online shopper penetration and breakdown, and a ranking of the top product categories purchased online.
• The next section cites the results of recent UK E-Commerce merchant surveys concerning their expectations of Brexit. Moreover, examples of how selected leading online retailers are preparing for Brexit are provided.
• The last two chapters of the report are devoted to the implications of Brexit for the cross-border E-Commerce sales flows between the UK and the EU. The first of them focuses on the impact of Brexit on the UK’s cross-border E-Commerce exports to the EU, and the second is devoted to its impact on UK cross-border ECommerce imports from the EU. Both chapters cite the results of relevant online shoppers and retailers’ surveys regarding Brexit.

Please note: For this report, the purchase of an Enterprise licence allows up to ten worldwide users of an organization access to the report