Brexit: What Does It Mean For Online Retailers?

Whether it’s selling to a customer in France or importing supplies from Italy, Europe plays an instrumental role for many of the UK’s online retailers. The EU is Britain’s largest trading partner, while western European markets account for more than 50% of the export market for online businesses, according to Volo, the community of multi-channel sellers. Now online retailers – like many businesses, politicians and the rest of society – are grappling to understand what the decision to leave the EU might mean for their future. While nothing is clear-cut as yet, etailers say the effect is already being felt, not least because of the depreciation of the pound. “Right from the minute we arrived in Portugal this month and received €22 euros for £25 pounds at a currency exchange desk for our taxi from the airport, to the increased cost of producing our latest collection out there, the negative effect of Brexit in terms of currency fluctuations is very real,” says designer Thomas Cridland, owner of sustainable fashion brand Tom Cridland, which sees 30% of its sales come from Europe. Read more at The Guardian.