French ecommerce
Are you looking to expand your online shop into France? The French e-commerce market is one of the largest in Europe. With Germany and the United Kingdom, France is in the top 3 largest European online markets. French consumers also buy their products from foreign webshops. In 2021, 15% of e-commerce involved a purchase abroad. So it certainly makes sense to conquer the French market with your webshop. The French are increasingly shopping mobile, also known as m-commerce. Therefore, make sure your French webshop is also easily accessible and readable on mobile. With Clonable a French website or webshop is made in no time.
Top 3 foreign online purchases:
China
Germany
United Kingdom
Top 3 product categories:
Clothing & shoes (34%)
Electronics (19%)
Home & Garden (16%)
Top 3 favorite payment methods:
Payment card (49%)
Digital wallet (Paypal, Allpay; 32%)
Credit card (11%)
Figures: Crossborder e-commerce shopper research conducted by the International Postal Cooperation (IPC)
Laws & regulations
Only if your products comply with EU legislation can you sell them freely in France. Be sure to check first that France's product requirements are the same as those in the Netherlands. Additional requirements apply in France for selling food supplements, foodstuffs and medicines. There may also be certain rules regarding the labeling of products. Therefore, research carefully what your products must meet before entering the market in France.
There are also other laws and regulations if you sell to French customers. For example, a strict environmental law, the "Responsabilité Élargie du Producteur (REP). You must comply with this if you sell packaged products through your Web shop to French people. According to French law, you are responsible for managing packaging.
In addition, the "destination country principle" applies when you sell products from your webshop to French consumers. This means that you invoice your French customer with French VAT: the TVA; Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutée. Only if your total amount together with your other sales to customers remains under the threshold of €10,000, you may continue to charge Dutch 21% VAT as a Dutch webshop.
