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Everyone knows France for their croissants and hot chocolate. But, do you know about their thriving economy and ecommerce market? France is the 9th most profitable ecommerce market globally, according to eCommerceDB. A European heavy-weight and globally-competitive as a startup destination, there's a lot to learn about starting a dropshipping business in France.
Country information
Location
France, also known as the French Republic, is a developed country in Western Europe. It shares land borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. Across the English Channel is its neighbour, the UK. France has coasts along the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
Population
France will have a population of 68 million in 2024. In 2022, the World Bank ranked France as the 21st largest population in the world (behind Thailand, but ahead of the UK).
Wealth
According to The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the average French disposable income is USD 34,375 per year. This is higher than the average of USD 30,490. Household net wealth is USD 298,639 per year, which is slightly less than the average of USD 323,960. France is the 29th richest country in the world, as published by Global Finance Magazine in 2024.
Language
French is the official language in France. However, according to the Ministère de la Culture, only 54% of French people are monolingual in French. Around 31% of the French population have mastered the English language. It would be recommended to offer a dropshipping store in French and English (for international students and expats).
Dropshipping in France
Strong ecommerce market
- France had ecommerce sales revenue of USD 160 billion in 2023 (Statista, 2024).
- It is expected to see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5% between 2024 and 2029 (Mordor Intelligence, 2023).
- There were 51 million ecommerce users in France in 2023 (Statista, 2024).
- France will have a digital buyer penetration rate of 95% by 2028 (Statista, 2024).
- 52.4% of the French bought goods or services online once a week in 2024 (Data Reportal, 2024).
- The average annual revenue per German online consumer was USD 1,719 in 2023 (Data Reportal, 2023).
- The digital buyer penetration rate is expected to reach 98% by 2028 (Statista, 2024).
France has a stable and robust ecommerce market. It is a country that embraces technology, online shopping, and ecommerce innovations.
What are the benefits of starting a business in France?
- Strong, stable economy with low corruption
- The third-largest economy in Europe
- Highly skilled workforce
- Low unemployment rate
- France has the second-largest rail network in Europe
- France has the third-largest network in Europe
- France ranked 8th in StartupBlink's Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2023
France ranks highly as a top destination for starting a new business. It has maintained its reputable position alongside other heavyweights such as the USA, the UK, and Germany. Creating a dropshipping business in France could be a lucrative idea.
How much do French online shoppers spend?
France in the top ten global countries willing to spend the most money on a single product bought online. VML's The Future Shopper Report 2023 found that the French are willing to spend USD 348 on one item. This is higher than shoppers in countries such as Poland, Australia, Thailand, and South Africa.
How often do the French shop online?
Klarna's 2023 Shopping Pulse Report, shows that shopping on a weekly basis is fairly common for French Gen Z shoppers (43%) and Millennials (55%). Only 26% of Gen X and 9% of Baby Boomers shop weekly online.
Product categories with high sales
France's online annual spending is split into the following categories of consumer goods, as per Data Reportal, 2024:
| Rank | Retail category | Revenue in 2022 |
| 1 | Fashion | USD 19.5 billion |
| 2 | Electronics | USD 16 billion |
| 3 | Food | USD 5.9 billion |
| 4 | Furniture | USD 4.8 billion |
| 5 | Beauty and personal care | USD 3.9 billion |
| 6 | DIY and hardware | USD 3.4 billion |
| 7 | Luxury goods | USD 2.8 billion |
| 8 | Toys, hobby, and DIY | USD 2.2 billion |
| 9 | Beverages | USD 2.1 billion |
| 10 | Physical media | USD 1.9 billion |
| 11 | Eyewear | USD 1.1 billion |
Furniture is one of the top four most popular online products to buy in France with DIY and hardware not far behind. A reputable dropshipping programme such as dropshippingXL give you access to over 90,000 products to sell including furniture, DIY, hobby, toys, and hardware.
Top ecommerce players in France
According to Similarweb, the most popular ecommerce players in Germany in January 2024 are listed in the following table:
| Rank | Ecommerce retailer | Category |
| 1 | Amazon.fr | Online marketplace |
| 2 | Leboncoin.fr | Online classified ads |
| 3 | Aliexpress.com | Online marketplace |
| 4 | Cdiscount.com | Online marketplace |
| 5 | Ebay.fr | Online marketplace |
Find out other top ecommerce retailers in France.
Internet penetration in France
The vast majority of the French access the internet regularly. In 2024, France had an internet penetration rate of 93.8% (60.80 million citizens) compared to the global average of 64.4%, says Data Reportal.
The French spend 5 hours and 22 minutes browsing the internet across all devices. Internet time is split almost exactly evenly between laptops and PCs (52.1%) and smartphones (47.9%).
Use of smartphones
Internet Retailing's France Ecommerce 2023 Report found that 79% of French consumers bought products online via smartphones "most of the time" or "all of the time." This is compared with 48% of the French who said they use their laptops and PCs "most of the time" or "all of the time" for online shopping.
According to Statista, in 2022, French online shoppers spent 147 billion euros from their smartphones and tablets. It's clear that the French consumer expects excellent usability of ecommerce websites from their smartphones and tablets. Make sure you focus on user experience and a responsive website for mobile users for your dropshipping store.
Delivery services in France
La Poste is the national postal service in France. Popular courier services include InPost (Mondial Relay), Colossimo, Chronospost, DPD, Relais Colis, FedEx, UPS, and GLS. French online shoppers prefer ordering online and having it delivered to their home or work address, as per the Internet Retailing's France Ecommerce 2023 Report.
Data Reportal found that 62% of the French are swayed by free delivery when making a purchase. An easy returns policy is considered by 32.2% and next-day delivery is only important to 31.5% of French online shoppers.
Free delivery with flexible and free or low-cost returns is a great way to impress French customers. The dropshippingXL programme offers free delivery to French customers from European warehouses. The flexible returns policy offers refunds within 30 days, or a full product replacement is available within six months.
What is dropshipping?
Dropshipping is an online retail business model with low startup costs. Dropshippers use a dropshipping programme that offers them a catalogue of products to advertise and sell online. Warehousing, packing and shipping are taken care of by the manufacturer.
Try dropshipping with dropshippingXL by vidaXL. When you make a sale, we send it to your customers directly from our Polish and Dutch warehouses.
To conclude
France is world-reknown as a business destination. It sits in the top ranking countries for startups, a strong ecommerce market, and wealthy country. French consumers have a higher-than-average disposable income. Dropshipping is an accessible business model that could go far in this digital-savvy and high-earning Western-European nation.
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