Ecommerce has been a bright spot among retail channels during the coronavirus, as consumers became reliant on digital transactions amid physical store closures and fear of infection.

Across Western Europe, most traditional media will see severe cutbacks in ad spending in 2020, as the disruptive effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue. But TV will see some of the steepest declines.

Total ad spending in France and Germany will fall this year, as a result of the pandemic. Traditional media will suffer most; digital ad spend will rise marginally, to €4.93 billion ($5.51 billion) in France and €7.38 billion ($8.27 billion) in Germany.

Global retail ecommerce sales will decelerate to a 16.5% growth rate in 2020. Even as consumers transitioned en masse to ecommerce during the pandemic, the drag caused by multiple recessions internationally has reduced the overall outlook.

Recent research has found that the stringent lockdown in France has boosted ecommerce dramatically as consumers make fewer in-store trips.

Retail sales in France have taken a body blow during the coronavirus crisis, but digital retail is seeing gains. We expect retail ecommerce sales in France to total $77.27 billion (€69.01 billion) this year, compared with $66.00 billion (€58.94 billion) in 2019.