France is an ideally located, diverse and prosperous export market for British companies. Combine this with easy transport links and low cost flights into Paris and many other provincial cities makes France a great prospect to begin your export journey. UK exports of goods and services to France totalled £21.5 billion in 2013. The UK was France’s seventh largest supplier.
Alongside its proximity to the UK, France offers a large, open and diversified market which has similar demographics and status to the UK and only a 1 hour time difference – making business hours synchronise.
France is the world’s fifth largest economy. It has the second largest consumer market in Europe with 73 million inhabitants.
France is a diversified economy, where services generate 80% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The economy also builds on world class industrial sectors. This includes Europe’s:
- largest aerospace and nuclear industries
- second largest agri-food and chemical industries
- third largest Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and pharmaceutical sectors
There are also huge opportunities in retail, education and creative industries for UK companies looking to grow.
To really know your market, we’ve curated the most pertinent facts and figures to help your international marketing efforts.
Knowing what to say, when to say it and how to best reach your potentially huge consumer base is crucial so we’ve collated stats on search engine usage, mobile penetration and social media too!
We’ve put this alongside a seasonal infographic to really help you time your marketing efforts alongside key cultural events – giving your new French prospects the right impression!
To really make the right impression, let us provide French translation services for your marketing, website and product documentation. We’ve translated thousands of documents into French and we have native-speaking experts in France for every translation task.
Armistice Day – Celebration of the cessation of World War I hostilities
on the Western Front.
*Fête de la Musique – Music festival also known as World Music Day.
*Fête Nationale Française – Bastille Day – Celebration of French culture.
*Victory in Europe Day – Holiday to celebrate the end of World War II.
FRANCE – AN OVERVIEW
Population
65.5 million [1]
Demographic Profile
48.5% Male 51.5% Female
Online Usage
77% of people have Internet access [2]
Online Shopping
51% buy things online [3]
SEARCH, YOUTUBE AND DISPLAY
Web Searches
59%of purchasers used a search engine to do research before purchasing [4]
YouTube Reach
55% of online population [5]
Video Advertising
69% say that being able to skip ads increases the enjoyment of the content on YouTube [6]
Google Display Network Reach
>90%[7]
MOBILE
60% access information on smartphone and follow-up on other device [8]
Smartphone Penetration
49% of people are using a smartphone [10]
Mobile Internet Users
75% of all smartphone users are daily online with their device [10]
Mobile Purchases
29% purchase online on their smartphone [10]
SOCIAL
4.1 hours per month on social networking sites [9]
Frequency
59% of smartphone users visit social networks at least once a month [10]
Engagement
50% of people read blogs and online reviews at least once a month [10]
Usage
47% share or re-share links on social networks [11]
MORE FACTS
- 3rd largest market in Europe in terms of B2C e-commerce sales
- 38% of retailers offer an English version of their website [13]
- $579 billion exported [14]
SOURCES:
[1] Insee, 2012
[2] Connected Consumer Study, 2012
[3] Connected Consumer Study, 2014
[4] Consumer Barometer, 2013
[5] Google Internal Data, 2012
[6] YouTube Global Audience Study, 2013
[7] Google Internal Data, 2012
[8] Our Mobile Planet, 2013
[9] Google Internal Data, 2012
[10] Connected Consumer Study, 2014
[11] YouTube Global Audience Study, 2013
[12] emarketer, June 2013
[13] OC&C Global Retail E-mpire report, 2013
[14] The World Factbook, 2012
