The pandemic boosted retail ecommerce sales across the world and fueled double-digit gains in France and Germany in 2020. This year, both countries will see single-digit growth, as physical retail begins to recover.

After a complicated 2020, most industries in Germany will accelerate their digital ad spending growth in 2021. The rebound for travel and auto will underwhelm, but retail spend will soar.

State-owned entities in China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, and South Korea have exploration licenses from the ISA, per Salon. Why we’re watching this: The decision about whether to mine the oceans will have major implications for mineral resources used in batteries for EVs, renewable energy systems, and electronics.

On the Continent, by country: France, Germany, Italy, and Belgium have experienced massive plummets in consumer confidence as inflation rises. A quarter of German consumers rearranged investment plans in response to economic shifts resulting from the war in Ukraine.

By contrast, females significantly outnumber males among Instagram users in Germany. Read Next.

In a study of select countries, adults favored in-store over online shopping everywhere except China. There, 54% would rather shop digitally and only 16% preferred physical stores, while the rest had no opinion.

The region’s seismic pivot toward ecommerce prompted a change in the way consumers search for products. Many are now beginning their consumer journey directly on ecommerce websites and apps like Mercado Libre, Amazon, Americanas S.A., and Magazine Luiza—rather than on search engines like Google.