Internet Shopping in France

Despite having a fairly robust and widespread access to the Internet in France the marketing possibilities have not been fully grasped by the commercial world. To a casual observer this would appear strange as on the face of it France has a large rural populace who you would imagine would benefit from access to goods without having to leave their home. However these have historically been the very same people who have been very self sufficient and in many cases only require occasional trips to the shops to replenish those staple items which they are unable to produce.

However over the past ten years the population of the rural areas and the small towns have seen changes with more young people taking advantage of the cheaper housing and of course more Europeans choosing to retire to the French countryside. These changes coupled with the increased demand for the variety and competitive prices offered by Internet sales has encouraged more and more French companies to utilise the net platform.

For those who are new to France or thinking of moving here I therefore give a brief summary of the sort of Internet Shopping which it is possible to access in France.

Clothes

The French consumer has for some years used catalogue shopping as a main source of clothes for the family. Up until the last 5 years the catalogues were mainly sourced from newspaper shops or by post, however the majority of the catalogue companies now provide sales access via the web. It is interesting to note that to reduce costs these companies use reception centres in local shops where the customer retrieves the order, as opposed to home deliveries.

La Redoute and 3 Suisse are the most popular of these catalogue shopping companies on the web.

There are also some French high street clothing stores that have now started selling their goods via the net such as Caroll and Petits Bateaux who sell good quality French designs.

But the biggest change for the ex-pats has been the extension of the UK retailers internet sales into France. The big names such as Marks & Spencer, Next and Littlewoods have made a big difference for those seeking to obtain better quality clothes and reasonable prices. Unfortunately a lot of the cheaper French clothing is sourced from China and other Asiatic countries and the quality is poor. After living in France for a few years you soon discover that it is difficult to find good quality clothing at moderate prices.

Just one word of warning some UK companies have a different pricing policy for Europe, check the UK site pricing before deciding on a purchase you could be surprised at the hidden surcharge.

Books & Electrical Goods

Obviously the biggest Internet presence in this area is Amazon although Waterstones also deliver to France, but some reason not WH Smith. If you enter the Amazon in France you will be presented with the French site and in general you can purchase most things via this site even English language books. If on the other hand you enter the UK  Amazon you will be unable to purchase some electrical goods, I presume this must have something to do with returns or perhaps electrical connections.

When it comes to buying electrical goods it is preferable to buy from a French online store to ensure that your rights under the warranty are protected and of course the connections to the electricity comply with French standards. It also makes dealing with faults so much easier in the event of a defect. Connexion and Darty are the biggest of the online retailers

Food 

Until recently low cost Internet food shopping has been difficult in France, but during the last year Intermarché has started to increase the availability of home delivery services. For some reason the large supermarkets have been reluctant to enter the online shopping market which is surprising when you look at the geography of France. Intermarché, internet site is not immediately user friendly but once you get used to it you can complete an average shop in about 15 minutes. The first delivery is free and the following 4 euros, which is considerably cheaper than car travel and the loss of time. Payment is on delivery rather than online.

Carrefour also provides internet shopping facilities for food as well as other goods but as yet the availability is limited to areas around their main stores.

Frozen food is available online via companies like Toupargel or in some areas Picard, but the areas of delivery are limited and we are outside the delivery scope of both companies much to our frustration. It appears it is very much down to the local franchise mangers as to whether they offer these services.

Ebay

I could not write a post about Internet shopping without mentioning Ebay which of course is accessible in France. When you search for Ebay and insert UK you are immediately asked if you want to enter the French site, my view is don,t bother! For some reason the French do not utilise Ebay in the same way the English do,e.g. they are reluctant to insert private sales on the web. Most of the French sellers are companies and entrepreneurs trying to market goods through Ebay often offering a fixed priced rather than bidding ability.

As a result most expats shop via the UK site although there are sometimes difficulties getting the sellers to agree to accept a bid from outside the UK.

Conclusion

As a French consumer you will not find access to the same range of goods and prices when shopping on the net as you did in the UK, but the situation is slowly getting better and sooner or later the large stores will wake up to the potential the changing French consumer offers. In the mean time at least we can still get our Marks & Spencer's underclothes!

Comments

[Michelle Brunt]

Couldn't do without pants from M&S eh?

[voucher codes uk]

Some good advice here, but beware! Many retailers refuse to honor e-coupons. If you're savvy enough to find e-coupons, go the extra step to unearth your grocer's coupon policy. It should be online. Then, go armed with a copy the first few times you want to redeem those e-coupons. Happy Saving!