Supranational postal operators association PostEurop has released a study into the EU e-commerce market that suggests that there is a lot of confidence in the sector, and this has a positive spill over into the European delivery sector.

The association had commissioned the report from Copenhagen Economics in order to contribute to the debate on cross border parcel delivery, that has been stirred up by the European Commission’s Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe, and it apparent plans to make it cheaper and more convenient for e-commerce to take place across national borders within the economic bloc.

The report confirmed that the EU e-commerce market is thriving, with domestic and cross border online shopping on the increase. It also showed that the proce of parcel delivery is driven by a number of supply and demand factors. In short, the price online shoppers pay for cross border parcel delivery does not always reflect the prices charged by delivery operators across the supply chain from e-tailer to customer.

According to PostEurop: “E-retailers play an important role in the end-price online shoppers pay for cross-border parcel delivery. A mystery shopping exercise revealed that there is a low correlation between the prices charged by e-retailers to e-shoppers and the prices postal operators’ charge to e-retailers. E-retailers choose how to price the delivery service depending on e-shopper demands and the e-retailer’s general pricing strategy. For example, ‘free delivery’ is offered if the purchase exceeds a threshold.

“In the delivery sector, as in other sectors, the price charged is market driven. It is a commercial decision influenced by demand and supply factors such as consumers’ willingness to pay, volumes flows or the relative bargaining power of e-retailers. Digging into economic and operational conditions helps better understand price differences between domestic and cross-border delivery services as well as between individual countries.”