Know the market: France
Do you want to expand your webshop to 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 in 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 on the move, also known as m-commerce. Therefore, make sure your French webshop is easily accessible and readable on mobile devices.
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
If your products comply with EU legislation, you may trade them freely in France. It is wise to check whether product requirements in France are the same as in the Netherlands. For example, additional requirements apply to food supplements, foodstuffs and medicines. Special labeling requirements sometimes apply.
There are also other laws and regulations if you sell to French customers. For example, there is a strict environmental law, the Responsabilité Élargie du Producteur (REP). You must comply with this when you sell packaged products through your webshop to French consumers. The French law stipulates that you are the first in the chain responsible for the management of packaging.
If you sell products from your webshop to French consumers, the 'destination country principle' applies. This means that you invoice your French private customer with French VAT: the TVA; Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutée. Only if your total amount to French consumers, together with your other intra-EU sales to private customers remains under the threshold of EUR 10,000 may you, as a Dutch webshop, continue to charge Dutch VAT.