What: Amazon dominates French Christmas e-commerce across all categories in 2024, marking a significant shift from 2023's performance.

Why it is important: This milestone reflects changing consumer preferences in France, traditionally resistant to Amazon's dominance, indicating a significant market transformation.

Amazon's unprecedented dominance across all French e-commerce categories during Christmas 2024 marks a significant shift in the retail landscape. The American giant outperformed competitors in toys, fashion, and home categories, demonstrating particular strength against specialist retailers. Traditional toy retailers like Smyth's Toys, King Jouet, and JouéClub showed resilience in the digital space, while fashion saw success from premium brands like Sézane and Uniqlo. In the home category, Maisons du Monde secured second place behind Amazon, with Nature & Découvertes and Sézane's diversification efforts proving successful. The emergence of Vinted in the top five highlighted the growing importance of second-hand commerce. This performance reflects broader market trends, where successful retailers are balancing digital capabilities with strong brand identity and specialized offerings.

IADS Notes: Global online holiday spending reached a milestone of USD 1.2 trillion , reflecting the accelerating shift toward digital commerce. Despite this trend, traditional retail formats demonstrated remarkable resilience, with department stores maintaining a significant 42% share of shopping visits . French department stores particularly exemplified successful adaptation, as evidenced by Galeries Lafayette's strong autumn performance with 15% sales growth . The announcement of their EUR 400 million investment plan further highlights the industry's commitment to balancing digital innovation with enhanced physical retail experiences.

Amazon dominated Christmas 2024 e-commerce in France