Internet Retailer tells us: "Of all [US] retailers ranked in the 2013 edition of the Top 500 Guide 42%—210—process and ship orders to some or all of the 18 biggest European online retail markets, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Of those 157 ship to all 18 European countries, including 65 web-only merchants process orders for all 18 countries compared with 61 chain retailers, 19 catalogers and 12 consumer brand manufacturers."

E-Commerce lobbyist E-Commerce Europe expects European e-Commerce to reach € 311.6 billion in 2012. This means the total revenue would be up with 19%.

"The EU28 (including Croatia, joining the EU as of 1 July 2013) reached €276.5 billion, or 88.7% of total European e-sales, a growth of 18.1%. Ecommerce Europe figures are compiled in cooperation with various e-commerce associations around Europe and in cooperation with GfK."

"The European e-commerce industry is clearly dominated by three leading countries: the UK (€96 billion), Germany (€50 billion) and France (€45 billion). The total of €191 billion of these three countries together represents 61% of the total European B2C e-commerce sector and 69% of the EU28."

"The total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Europe in 2012 is estimated to have reached €16 trillion, of which the GDP of the EU28 was just over 80 per cent. Ecommerce Europe estimates the share of the European Internet economy at 3.5%, a percentage that is set to double by 2016 and to triple by 2020 given the fact that the Internet economy grows much faster that the economy in general."

"Ecommerce Europe estimates the number of B2C websites to have grown to 550,000 at the end of 2012, growing at a pace of 15 to 20% per year and set to grow even more given the growth foreseen in the upcoming markets in the South and the East such as Spain, Italy, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, where B2C e-commerce is rapidly closing the gap with the more mature markets in North, West, and Central Europe."

GlobalWebIndex data from the last quarter of 2012 "indicated Russia as the fastest growing e-commerce market in Europe, with 19.59% growth between Q2 2012 and Q4 2012".

Audrey Ottevanger, country manager for Malaysia and Philippines at PayPal, has some interesting observations on SMEs and cross border e-Commerce. "Ottevanger said that the global market has made cross-border e-commerce a rising force in Malaysia’s foreign trade sector, offering millions of enterprises, most of which are SMEs, a brand-new business model to expand beyond the domestic market. Today, SMEs in Malaysia face tough competition from larger players, as well as high operating costs. They also typically have less market visibility and do not have the capital to spend on expanding physically across borders. ... As the world becomes increasingly connected, the option to buy and sell online presents the opportunity for businesses looking to move beyond traditional brick-and-mortar environments, and tap into new channels of revenue with existing product lines which may be in demand globally. “This is why we believe that in order to stay successful, they need to expand overseas by engaging in cross-border trade online. Enabling SMEs has always been a core part of PayPal’s business and we are well positioned to help them overcome these barriers and explore additional revenue streams by growing cross-border,” she said."