AMZ123 has learned that, recently, data released by the French e-commerce association (Fevad) showed that in the first half of 2026, French online sales of goods and services exceeded €102 billion, up 6.6% year over year. This growth rate was close to the 7.1% recorded in 2025, but after entering spring, the market clearly accelerated.

Among them, the second quarter was particularly strong: online sales reached €52.2 billion, up 8.5% year over year, significantly higher than the 4.7% growth in the first quarter. June became the key month driving second-quarter growth, with online sales of consumer goods up 12.2% year over year.

June's growth was driven by multiple factors. On the one hand, the promotional calendar during the month was relatively intensive; on the other, the football World Cup and several rounds of hot weather also boosted consumption. The hot weather especially pushed up online demand for cooling devices, air conditioners and similar products. In the heat, consumers could place orders online without leaving home, further reflecting the convenience of e-commerce shopping.

However, June's growth was not driven only by heat-related products. In the second quarter, online sales of sporting goods rose 16.2% year over year, household textiles rose 12.2%, tech and home appliances rose 8.5%, and beauty products rose 7.4%, with multiple categories all achieving growth.

But this acceleration did not last long. By July, the year-over-year growth rate of online goods sales had already slowed to 4.8%. Looking cumulatively at the first seven months of 2026, online sales of related goods rose 6.8% year over year. This also shows that June's strong performance is not yet enough to prove that the French e-commerce market has entered a new long-term growth phase.

At the same time, a clear change has emerged in how consumers shop: they are buying more, but spending less each time. In the second quarter, the number of e-commerce transactions in France rose 13.5% year over year, while the average order value fell 4.3% to €59.7. In other words, current market growth is mainly driven by an increase in transaction volume, rather than higher spending per order.

This change also reflects that consumers remain highly focused on spending. Online shopping makes it convenient for consumers to compare prices across different products and look for discounts. Therefore, as consumption becomes more cautious, price and promotions remain important factors affecting purchases.

For e-commerce platforms and merchants, rising order numbers combined with falling average order value create new operating pressure. More orders can drive overall sales growth, but they also mean costs for logistics, customer acquisition and order processing may rise further.

Fevad said the first-half performance continued the trend seen in 2025. The second quarter was mainly driven by June promotions and hot weather, while the slowdown in July indicates that June was only a short-term shopping peak. The decline in average order value also shows once again that consumer purchasing power remains an important factor influencing market growth.

Beyond pure online platforms, traditional retailers with physical stores are also further strengthening their online operations. In the first half, across multiple product categories, retail companies with physical store networks recorded online sales growth higher than the overall market level. Taking tech and home appliances as an example, in June these retailers' online business growth was more than 50% higher than that of the overall market.

The competitive landscape of the French e-commerce market is also changing. Chinese e-commerce platforms that expanded rapidly in recent years are beginning to face new pressure. Data from the French Fashion Institute (IFM) shows that in the first seven months of 2026, Shein, Temu and AliExpress together accounted for 29% of online clothing purchases in France, and their market influence remains significant. By July, however, their combined share of online clothing purchases had fallen to 25%.

Platform traffic also declined noticeably. Fevad data showed that in July, Temu's visits fell 36.4% year over year, Shein fell 42.3%, and AliExpress fell 10.4%. It should be noted that these data reflect changes in platform audience size, not directly equivalent to changes in sales, but they do indicate that the three platforms' traffic heat is declining.

Overall, the French e-commerce market still maintained growth in the first half of 2026. Entering the second half, the market still has room to grow, but merchants' priority is no longer just increasing orders; they also need to find a new balance among promotional intensity, average order value, customer acquisition costs and fulfillment costs.

Author✎  Summer/AMZ123
Statement: This article is copyrighted by AMZ123 and may not be reproduced without permission. For authorization, please contact: amz123happy

Seller Home Review

French e-commerce still has incremental potential, but with average order value declining and the share of low-price platforms contracting, sellers should optimize pricing and category structures and watch for the risk of growth slowing after the June peak season.

Source: European E-commerce News
Original link: https://www.amz123.com/t/vdyz33uG