Which E-commerce Market Next: Germany, France or Spain?
How to choose your next e-commerce market in Europe? The three questions to answer before launching in Germany, France or Spain.
Laura Dominguez, co-founder LDMM Agency
7/27/20261 min read
European cross-border e-commerce is thriving: €358.7 billion in 2024/2025 according to Cross-Border Commerce Europe, up 10% year on year. For an ambitious brand, the question is no longer "should we internationalise?" but "where, and in what order?".
Germany, France, Spain: three markets, three playbooks
Germany is continental Europe's largest e-commerce market, with a demanding consumer oriented towards proof and certifications, and very specific payment habits: PayPal and invoice payment dominate (28.5% and 25.8% of revenue respectively, according to EHI). It is a high-potential market that rewards rigour and punishes approximation.
France combines a large, mature e-commerce market with an audience receptive to brand storytelling and emotion. Credit cards dominate the checkout, and the regulated soldes periods structure the commercial calendar in a way foreign brands routinely underestimate.
Spain offers strong e-commerce growth and culturally accessible marketing, but real price competition. Mobile commerce and social discovery weigh heavily in the path to purchase.
The three questions to answer before choosing a market
Whichever market you are considering, three questions deserve a data-backed answer before any investment. One: how does your audience search for your products there, with which words, what volumes, what competition? (Hint: not with your translated keywords.) Two: which payment methods and delivery promises does the market expect at checkout? Three: does your brand appear, or could it appear, when someone asks ChatGPT or Google about your category in that country? That last one is the domain of GEO.
If any of these questions is still open, that is exactly where your expansion will be won or lost.
Our approach: decide with local data
At LDMM Agency, we open every expansion project with a market analysis: local search volumes, competitive landscape, legal requirements and payment expectations. The outcome is a concrete basis for decision, not a hunch. And because we work in German, French, Spanish and Italian, the analysis is done by people who read the market in its own language.
Which market is on your 2027 roadmap? Let's talk it through in a free initial consultation, and we will tell you what we would check first for your sector.
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+49 162 4240005
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