Amazon reports slight decline in European Union user base as regional market dynamics shift under Digital Services Act requirements

Amazon has reported a marginal contraction in its monthly active user base across the European Union for the first half of this year, a development that underscores the evolving competitive landscape of the continental e-commerce sector. According to data submitted to the European Commission, the e-commerce giant recorded an average of 193.9 million monthly active recipients (AMARs) during the six-month period ending in June. This figure represents a slight retreat from the 195.2 million users reported during the second half of the previous year, reflecting a period of stabilization following years of aggressive pandemic-era expansion.

These figures are disclosed in accordance with the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a landmark legislative framework that mandates large online platforms to provide transparency regarding their reach and operations. By defining “active recipients” as individuals who have engaged with the service at least once during a given month—not necessarily completing a purchase—the data provides a comprehensive, if broad, snapshot of Amazon’s footprint across its 27-member state ecosystem.

Regional Breakdown and Market Dominance

The internal data provided to the European Commission reveals a highly uneven distribution of Amazon’s influence across the bloc. Germany remains the cornerstone of Amazon’s European operations, accounting for the highest volume of active users. With 52.8 million monthly active recipients, Germany continues to function as the company’s most significant market by a substantial margin. However, even this powerhouse market saw a 1.7 percent decline in its user base compared to the previous reporting period, suggesting that even in regions where Amazon is deeply embedded, the company faces challenges in maintaining growth against a backdrop of macroeconomic headwinds and changing consumer behavior.

France and Italy follow as secondary pillars of the European strategy, reporting 38.8 million and 38.1 million active recipients, respectively. While Italy showed remarkable resilience with a negligible decline of only 0.1 percent, the French market experienced a more pronounced contraction of 4.0 percent. Spain, another core market, recorded 27.9 million users, representing a 1.0 percent decline.

The Netherlands stands as a notable outlier among the company’s primary European markets. With 6.6 million active recipients, it remains the smallest of the five major markets analyzed in this cohort, yet it is the only one to record positive growth during the first half of the year, with a 4.0 percent increase in its user base. This growth is particularly significant given that the Dutch market remains highly competitive, dominated by local incumbent Bol.

Chronology of the Digital Services Act Reporting

The requirement for these disclosures stems from the EU’s Digital Services Act, which came into full effect in 2023. The DSA was designed to ensure that “Very Large Online Platforms” (VLOPs), such as Amazon, remain accountable for their influence on the digital economy.

• 2023: Amazon begins submitting its initial transparency reports under the DSA, setting a baseline for user engagement metrics.
• Early 2024: The European Commission harmonizes the reporting standards for all VLOPs, ensuring that data submitted by platforms is standardized and comparable across different reporting periods.
• Mid-2024: Amazon releases its data for the first half of 2024, confirming the slight decline in total EU recipients compared to the latter half of 2023.

This shift toward mandatory, harmonized reporting has effectively ended the era of opaque user metrics for e-commerce giants. By standardizing the definition of an “active recipient,” the European Commission has provided researchers and market analysts with a consistent, albeit high-level, tool to measure the penetration of major digital platforms within the Single Market.

The Strategic Landscape in the Netherlands

The growth observed in the Netherlands—a 4.0 percent increase in active users—warrants closer scrutiny when viewed against the company’s broader European investment strategy. Unlike Germany or France, where Amazon has operated for decades, the company’s presence in the Netherlands is relatively nascent in terms of its dedicated storefront.

Industry analysts note that Amazon is currently engaged in an aggressive effort to capture market share from local leaders like Bol. To this end, the company has committed to investing 1.4 billion euros over a three-year period. This capital injection is aimed at logistics infrastructure, Prime membership incentives, and localized marketing campaigns. While recent data from ECDB indicates that Amazon’s sales grew by 2.7 percent in the Netherlands last year, the gap between Amazon and Bol remains substantial. The latest user growth data suggests that while the platform is successfully attracting more visitors, the conversion of these visitors into high-frequency buyers remains a long-term project.

Growth Outliers: The Nordic and Baltic Experience

While the core markets of Western and Southern Europe have experienced saturation or contraction, the figures reveal rapid expansion in peripheral markets. Denmark recorded the highest growth in the EU, with a 18.4 percent increase in monthly active recipients. Sweden and Ireland also posted strong double-digit growth, at 13.9 percent and 12.1 percent respectively.

These shifts suggest that Amazon is still in a phase of aggressive discovery and adoption in smaller European economies. In these regions, the platform is likely benefiting from a lack of deeply entrenched local e-commerce incumbents, allowing it to capture new digital-first consumers.

Conversely, the most significant decline occurred in Greece, where the user base plummeted by 20.2 percent. This contraction highlights the impact of local competition; in Greece, the market is currently led by Skroutz, a specialized price-comparison and e-commerce aggregator that has successfully fended off international competition through deep local integration and specific consumer-loyalty features.

Broader Implications and Future Outlook

The slight decline in Amazon’s total EU user count from 195.2 million to 193.9 million is unlikely to be perceived as a failure by the company, but rather as a stabilization. During the 2020–2022 period, e-commerce platforms benefited from an unprecedented surge in demand driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. As that tailwind dissipates, the current figures reflect a return to a more organic, albeit slower, growth trajectory.

Furthermore, the data suggests that Amazon’s growth in Europe is now moving from a "land grab" phase to a "retention" phase. In mature markets like Germany and France, the focus has shifted toward increasing the "share of wallet" among existing users—primarily through the Amazon Prime loyalty program—rather than merely chasing raw user numbers.

However, the regulatory environment remains a critical variable. Under the DSA, Amazon is subject to increased oversight regarding algorithmic transparency, product safety, and the prevention of counterfeit goods. Compliance costs, while substantial, are considered a standard operating expense for a company of Amazon’s scale. The challenge, as evidenced by the performance in Greece and the struggle against local rivals like Bol, is that European consumers are increasingly favoring platforms that offer either hyper-localized value or specific, niche utility.

Conclusion

The transparency reports filed under the Digital Services Act provide a valuable window into the maturity of the European e-commerce market. Amazon remains the dominant player in the region, with its influence spanning from the industrial heartlands of Germany to the growing digital economies of Scandinavia. While the recent dip in monthly active recipients may invite scrutiny, it is consistent with a post-pandemic market recalibration.

Moving forward, the success of Amazon in Europe will likely be determined by its ability to navigate the tension between its pan-European scale and the specific, highly competitive demands of individual member states. The company’s continued investment in infrastructure, particularly in emerging markets like the Netherlands, indicates that it remains committed to expanding its footprint, even as it manages a more complex regulatory and competitive landscape than it faced in its early years of European expansion. The next round of reporting, due in early 2025, will be pivotal in determining whether the current contraction is a temporary dip or the beginning of a longer-term trend toward market saturation.