The size of the Irish ecommerce market
2 million households
64% live in cities/towns.
80% have access to the internet and smart phones
75% connect on social media daily.
70% shop online at least 1 time a month
63% will research online before making a big ticket purchase
26% spend online 6 or more times per month.
| Population | 4.8 million |
|---|---|
| Gross domestic product | €294 billion |
| E-commerce market value | €7 billion |
| Mobile commerce market size | €2.9 billion |
| Mobile commerce as a percentage of e-commerce market | 42% |
source : ecommerce europe / mastercard visa / cso / jpmorgan
Split of cross border sales
65% from Irish Suppliers
35% from other countries
Source : ecommerce europe
Comment : Irish suppliers are those registered in Ireland with distribution centers in Ireland.
Top Ecommerce Markets in terms of value
1. Clothing
2. Shoes
3. Furniture
4. Electronics
5. Food and Drink
6. Cosmetics
Source : mastercard, ecommerce-europe
Comment : hard to separate the top performers as the data sources are sector dependent and some players are across sectors.
Ecommerce Market share Online Stores
30% of the top 100 irish stores are pure online players.
top 5 online retailers have 40% of online sales
top 6-25 have 35% of online sales
top 25 account for 75% of online sales
98% of Irish stores offer visa and mastercard payments – this will change dramatically in the next 2-3 years
Main ecommerce Shippers in Ireland
1. Click and Collect
2. DPD
3. An Post
4. Fastway
Does not included are shipping platforms like shipstation and scurri.
Market Places
1. Amazon.co.uk ( brexit effect )
2. eBay
3. Amazon.de ( brexit effect )
4. Wayfair
5. Etsy
Brexit Effect : vat and customs duties on all imports post july 2021. This has driven business away from amazon.co.uk and led to Amazon setting up a warehouse in Ireland in April 2022. Judging by the amount sold through their .de and .nl sites ( used to avoid the vat ) this new warehouse in Ireland maybe a waste of time for the size of the market ?
Ecommerce Platforms used in Ireland
1. WooCommerce / WordPress
2. Shopify
3. Magento
4. Opencart
5. osCommerce / Zencart
6. Prestashop
7. BigCommerce
8. wix
9. Shopware
10. CS Cart
11. squarespace
Comment : This is based on the number of .ie sites running these platforms.
ecommerce % of GDP
2.4% of Irish GDP is attributed to ecommerce ( source ecommerce-europe )
World ecommerce size in terms of country spend.
1. China $2 trillion
2. USA $500 billion
3. UK $150 billion
4. Japan $120 billion
5. South Korea $110 billion
6. Germany $90 billion
7. France $70 billion
8. Canada $60 billion
9. India $50 billion
10 Russia $30 billion
then
Ireland $3.5 billion
Comment 1 : Ireland $3.5 billion ( 50 times smaller than UK market but population is 10 times smaller )
Comment 2 : Ireland’s 3 closest markets are worth $300 billion. ( UK France and Germany )
Top online stores in Ireland by income.
| Store | Location Country |
| 1 amazon.co.uk | uk |
| 2 tesco.ie | ireland |
| 3 argos.ie | ireland |
| 4 currys.ie | ireland |
| 5 littlewoodsireland.ie | uk |
| 6 next.ie | ireland |
| 7 apple.com | usa |
| 8 amazon.com | usa |
| 9 dunnesstores.com | ireland |
| 10 marksandspencer.com | uk |
| 11 sportsdirect.com | uk |
| 12 asos.com | uk |
| 13 woodies.ie | ireland |
| 14 nike.com | usa |
| 15 harveynorman.ie | ireland |
| 16 jdsports.ie | ireland |
| 17 screwfix.ie | ireland |
| 18 zara.com | uk |
| 19 dell.com | usa |
| 20 boots.ie | ireland |
| 21 ikea.com | ireland |
| 22 supervalu.ie | ireland |
| 23 debenhams.ie | uk |
| 24 homestoreandmore.ie | ireland |
| 25 mandmdirect.ie | uk |
| 26 hm.com | uk |
| 27 did.ie | ireland |
| 28 shein.com | usa |
| 29 thomann.de | germany |
| 30 oxendales.ie | uk |
| 31 lifestylesports.com | ireland |
| 32 halfords.ie | ireland |
| 33 powercity.ie | ireland |
| 34 adidas.ie | ireland |
| 35 smythstoys.com | uk |
| 36 hollandandbarrett.ie | ireland |
| 37 zalando.ie | ireland |
| 38 elverys.ie | ireland |
| 39 buyitdirect.ie | uk |
| 40 bookdepository.com | australia |
| 41 boohoo.com | uk |
| 42 riverisland.com | uk |
| 43 gamestop.ie | ireland |
| 44 prettylittlething.ie | ireland |
| 45 mccabespharmacy.com | ireland |
| 46 lappsdirect.ie | uk |
| 47 inishpharmacy.com | ireland |
| 48 riverisland.ie | ireland |
| 49 arnotts.ie | ireland |
| 50 brownthomas.com | ireland |
Further breakdowns into the following sectors are available on request.
Electronics-media
Books-movies-music-games
Consumer-electronics
Fashion
Apparel
Bags-accessories
Footwear
Gorceries
Food-beverages
Personal-care
Domestic furniture
Household-appliances
Toys-hobby-diy
DIY-garden-pets
Hobby-stationery
Pports-outdoor
Toys-baby
Ecommerce Growth in Ireland in 2021
Average growth of ecommerce stores in Ireland 2021 was 24%
Commentary :
Major shift since brexit away from UK based operators will see a shift in spend from stores shipping to Ireland from the UK.
Credit card 3D secure is driving traffic to market places where cards are pre-approved. There is a gap for a new online payment method that is secure and less cumbersome.
Artificial Intelligence investment will increase as the market becomes more saturated. It is no longer good enough to simply fill gaps as these are now rare. Ai is the next wave of market penetration.
New concept of digital sales rooms are now integral to B2B ecommerce coupled with AI.
Brands exiting market places as a policy is proving to be temporary as their competitors move into the space they have vacated, resulting in re-entry.
Credits / Examptions
Sectors not included. Illegal goods, Porn, subscription services, online tax – revenue.
Comment : Major shift since brexit away from UK based operators will see a huge shift in spend.
Credit Sources : CRO.ie, google.ie, moz, semrush, wincher, visa, mastercard, statista, builtwith, wappalyzer, ecommerce europe
Latest update : 7/01/2022
All the information on this page has been gathered from a number of sources listed in the credits.
Comments are the personal observances and opinions of the author.
For more indepth analysis and interviews please contact Sean Owens Head of Ecommerce -Granite Digital on 01-5242100.