Paris Region, World Capital of Shopping

As an international capital of fashion and creation, Paris is naturally the number one luxury shopping destination in the world. 60% of the 50M+ annual tourists attracted to the Region cite shopping as the main reason for their stay.

Shoppers can choose from a variety of locations as Paris Region counts 218 shopping centers - including 3 of Europe’s Top 10 (Westfield Les Quatre Temps, Westfield Forum des Halles, Creteil Soleil) - and 17 major department stores (La Samaritaine, Galeries Lafayette, Printemps, Le Bon Marché, BHV Marais...). The city of Paris itself counts 28 retail businesses per 1,000 inhabitants.

Paris has been experiencing a retail switch with brands offering new, smaller, more digital, more service-oriented and experiential retail formats. While we have seen the emergence of trendy concept stores such as such as Kith Paris, Merci, Empreintes, mass market retailers have been transforming and developing their activities using various strategies. Flagships stores have been emerging, one of the last being the Lacoste Arena opened in 2022 on the Champs Elysees. Autonomous and connected stores such as Carrefour Flash, promising to “shop in 10 seconds and pay in 10 seconds”. Inclusivity and sustainable development are on the rise. Carre Y a brand of genderless jewlery presents its product within concept stores. The Veja coner at Galeries Lafayette offers to clean, repair, and collect old pairs of shoes. Monoprix now showcase a Zero waste cosmetics corner within its stores.

The Rise of E-Commerce and RetailTech

France is the 2nd largest e-commerce market in Europe with 41.8 million French people making purchases on the internet (numbers 2021 according to the Federation of e-commerce and Distance Selling). The Covid-19 triggered a huge increase in online purchasing in 2020, maintaining its levels in 2021.

82.7% of Paris Region internet users are e-buyers. The 200,100 active merchant websites in France are led by Amazon, Cdiscount, Fnac, E.Leclerc and Decathlon.

As concerns over the environment are growing, we observed a rise in the “shop local” movement (60% of buyers bought through a local website last year) and secondhand purchases (50% of buyers bought secondhand of refurbished item last year). In this context, we see retail companies taking actions to reduce their environmental footprint.

The RetailTech and E-Commerce ecosystem is rapidly growing in Paris Region with numerous startups covering all the value chain from store traffic acquisition to in-store user experience and after sales. This includes the unicorn Contentsquare for digital analytics, the payment solution Alma, the marketplace Back Market, and the logistic solution Cubyn.

Sustainable Development

In line with the 17 sustainable development goals established by the United Nations, Paris Region and industry clusters are taking actions:

• 32 major online retailers came together with the French government and the Fevad (Federation of E-commerce and distance selling) to take actions for more sustainable e-ecommerce within the frame of the “Charter for Reducing Online Retail’s Environmental Impact”.
• Paris Region set up a goal to move from a linear consumption model to a circular model by 2030.
• POPAI, a professional retail association, certifies the global eco-design approach of companies manufacturing Point of Sales displays. This is a result of the collaborative work between advertisers, manufacturers and ECO2 Initiative. It is supported by ADEME Île de France.

Take advantage of the Paris 2024 Olympics

With 10 million visitors, Olympic Games are an opportunity to showcase your solution and benefit from the flow.

• Reference your company within the official products & services or become a sponsor here
• Facilitate transactions with international customers, build customer loyalty
• Showcase your solution: we have referenced shopping malls around Olympic Games sites for you.

Clusters, Incubators and Accelerators to Support Your Growth in Paris Region

PICOM by Cap Digital is an innovation cluster focused on retail in France. PICOM brings together major retailers, technology companies, higher education institutions and research organizations. Learn More. 

FEVAD, the Federation of E-commerce and Distance Selling is a professional organization federating e-commerce and online sales companies. Learn More. 

POPAI France is a member of the Shop! International Network, which includes 17 offices worldwide. POPAI France gathers the actors of the Point of Sale Marketing (POS): brands, distributors and creative/producers, around the following professions and services: POS, merchandising, digital, layout, commercial architecture etc. Learn More. 

La Maison des Startups LVMH located in Station F, accelerates collaborations between startups and the 70+ Maisons of the group. Since 2016, LVMH has been partnering with Vivatech, the largest European tech and open innovation event, for its LVMH Innovation Award. Learn More. 

Plug&Play Retail France. Based in Paris, Plug and Play Retail France is the premier business accelerator for the retail and e-commerce industries. Startups in this ecosystem get a unique advantage by getting connected with world-leading companies. Learn More. 

LookForward the incubator of the French online fashion retailer Showroomprive.com, targets start-ups willing to transform fashion, beauty and retail industries. Learn More. 

CRI – Connected Retail Incubator by POPAI France is a structure designed for start-ups specializing in connected systems for retail, distribution, and the digital evolution of Point of Sale Marketing. Learn More. 

URWLab is Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's lab for innovation. It facilitates the adoption of innovative ideas in Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield shopping centers across Europe. Learn More. 

Havas Startup Accelerator, located in Station F, has a special focus on Martech and Adtech, but is also looking for startups in the Media, Entertainment, and E-commerce space. Learn More. 

Wilco is an innovation accelerator that supports the growth of startups up to their first million euros and the transformation of large companies. Wilco supports early-stage startups with programs dedicated to 5 industries: Healthcare, Retail, Industry, Digital and BtoC. Learn More. 
 

Retail & E-Commerce Events in Paris Region

Paris Retail Week, Paris, September - The European global event for Retail professionals in IT for commerce, Logistics, Marketing, RetailTech and Payment solutions. Learn More.  

TECH for RETAIL, Paris, November - The European exhibition of innovative retail: exhibitors, conferences, experience sharing, networking. Learn More.  

New Shopping Experience,, Paris, November, every 2 years – B2B event for business professionals facilitating the meeting of major retailers, small businesses, SMEs and research centers. Organized by PICOM by Cap Digital, the Retail Cluster. Learn More. 

Download our guide to find the right accelerator for your company in Paris Region.

Meet us at more events

In the News

Costco: The American Wholesale Corporation Seizing a Whole Lot of Opportunities
Costco may very well be a household name in the United States, but the corporation is still fairly new in terms of its operations in France. Recognizing the potential market in Paris Region, the company decided to open their first local store. Since their arrival 2 years ago, Costco has seen ample success and is currently in the process of opening their second store in the Region. We spoke with Gary Swindells (Country Manager for Costco France), to discover the company’s approach to constructing a successful business strategy, their take on Paris Region, and how they successfully executed their plan in their French expansion.
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Ready, Set, ACTION: How Paris Region Helps Businesses Scale Up
With more than 80 stores in Paris Region and 2,000 stores in Europe, ACTION is the fastest growing non-food discounter in Europe. Serving more than 12 million customers every week, the company has been present in France for almost ten years now. By taking advantage of the many industrial and commercial zones Paris Region has to offer, ACTION has been able to expand their presence and recruit many talents. We recently sat down with the Managing Director of ACTION FRANCE to discuss their rapid expansion and why the unique location opportunities in Paris Region play an essential role.
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