Online business in France no longer resembles what it was two years ago. E-commerce revenue has recently increased by about 7%, but this growth hides a shift: buyers are ordering more often, for smaller amounts.
The average basket has decreased by about 3 euros while the number of transactions has risen by about 10%. For online entrepreneurs, this reality requires rethinking how to sell, retain customers, and automate.
Micro-baskets and recurring purchases: the real engine of online growth
Have you noticed that your customers are buying more often but spending less with each order? This phenomenon is not trivial. It reflects a structural trend in French online commerce: growth now comes from frequency, not amount.
Specifically, this means that models based on a large single basket are losing ground. Monthly subscriptions, automatic refills, and small add-ons added at the end of the order are becoming the main levers of profitability.
For a solo entrepreneur or a small structure, the consequence is direct: logistics must be rethought. Shipping three small packages instead of one large one changes the cost structure. Shipping fees, packaging, preparation time—all increase per unit sold.
Companies that manage to stand out optimize each shipment, for example by offering free shipping thresholds calculated to the nearest cent or by consolidating shipments through order time slots.
Several market players regularly publish analyses on these developments. On the Neo News online business site, you can find insights that allow you to track these changes over the months.
AI-assisted shopping journey: what customers really expect
Artificial intelligence applied to online business is not limited to writing product sheets. The most significant evolution concerns the behavior of consumers themselves. Nearly one in three online shoppers already uses an AI assistant, an augmented search engine, or an intelligent comparator to search, compare, and decide on a purchase.
What does this change mean for an online sales site? Your product sheets are no longer just read by humans. They are analyzed, dissected, and compared by software agents. If your descriptions are vague or poorly structured, the AI will direct the customer to a better-ranked competitor.
Adapting product sheets to AI queries
AI assistants work by extracting precise information. They look for comparable data: price, dimensions, materials, delivery times, compatibility. A vague marketing paragraph provides them with nothing.
- Structure each sheet with clear and standardized fields (weight, size, composition, warranty) rather than a narrative text
- Add answers to frequently asked questions directly on the product page, as AI agents draw from these blocks to formulate their recommendations
- Test your own pages by asking questions to a public AI assistant: if the answer it generates is incomplete or incorrect, your sheet needs to be revised
An AI-designed shopping journey also benefits human buyers, who can find the information they need more quickly.
European digital regulation: a filter that entrepreneurs overlook
The Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) have come into effect within the European Union. These two regulations significantly change the obligations of online sellers, even for small structures.
The DSA imposes transparency rules on content moderation, customer reviews, and targeted advertising. The DMA, on the other hand, targets large platforms (the “gatekeepers”) but its effects ripple through to all merchants selling there. For example, the listing conditions on marketplaces are evolving to comply with new fairness requirements.
Concrete obligations for small e-commerce merchants
Even though the DMA targets web giants, a seller present on a marketplace must understand how these rules affect the visibility of their products. Platforms are required to no longer systematically favor their own services. For a third-party merchant, this can open up visibility opportunities that did not exist before.
- Ensure that your general sales conditions clearly mention the ranking criteria for your products if you operate your own site
- Audit your customer review collection practices: fake reviews or filtered reviews now expose you to heavier sanctions
- Monitor updates to the terms of use of the marketplaces where you sell, as they gradually incorporate the obligations of the DSA
Regulatory compliance is becoming a competitive advantage for companies that act early, while their competitors discover the constraints at the last minute.
Social commerce and customer data: balancing trend and profitability
Social selling, direct selling via social networks, is attracting a lot of attention. Platforms like TikTok Shop merge entertainment and shopping in one gesture. The model looks appealing on paper: the consumer discovers a product in a video and buys it without leaving the app.
In practice, the profitability of this channel heavily depends on the type of product and the average price. Low-value items perform well because impulse buying is in full swing. For more expensive or technical products, the return rate skyrockets and the margin shrinks.
The other point of caution concerns data. Selling on a social platform means entrusting it with the customer relationship. You do not recover either the email address or the usable purchase history. Building a clean customer list remains more profitable in the long run than relying on a third-party algorithm that can change overnight.
Social commerce deserves to be tested as an acquisition channel, not as the main channel. The strongest online companies use networks to capture attention, then redirect to their own site to convert and retain. This choice requires more work, but it protects the margin and the customer relationship over time.
