Despite a weak economy, the European e-commerce market edged out the U.S. in terms of 2012 e-retailing growth with online sales totaling $302.20 billion, up 16.62% from $260.41 billion in 2011, says the U.K.-based Centre for Retail Research. In comparison, e-commerce in the U.S. grew year over year 15.9% to $225.54 billionfrom $194.61 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The 500 leading e-retailers in Europe did even better, collectively increasing their web sales 17.0% to $122.74 billion from $104.89 billion, according to Internet Retailer's just-released 2013 Europe 500 guide, which ranks the 500 leading merchants in Europe based on their annual web sales.

Expanded 25% in content, the Europe 500 includes 177 data points per retailer. Updated elements for the 2013 edition include data on each retailer's 2012 e-mail marketing campaigns; social networking affiliations; monthly web traffic and unique visitors; percent of traffic from search engines; a detailed map of European e-commerce featuring key online sales statistics, Internet use and demographics on 18 of the largest countries in the European Union; and valuable information on nearly 800 e-commerce executives for each Europe 500 organization. In addition, the 2013 Europe 500 ranks and profiles 109 newcomers not previously listed in the 2012 Top 400 Europe.

"Despite its fragmented nature, the European e-commerce market is bigger than the U.S. market and is growing at roughly the same speed," says Jack Love, Internet Retailer chairman and chief executive officer. "It's quite an amazing achievement, since they've not had the benefit of a growing overall economy like we've had here in the U.S. And since the European e-commerce market is so decentralized—there are no pan-European operators like the e-retailers that sell across America—that's a shining beacon of opportunity for major players to emerge and grab market share."

Forty of the 500 top e-retailers in Europe are U.S.-based companies; their collective 2012 sales grew 13.7% to $25.39 billion, claiming 22.1% of all Europe 500 market share. For Amazon.com Inc., ranked No. 1 in the Europe 500, 2012 was another banner year for European web sales: $16.11 billion, up by 19.3% over 2011 web sales of $13.50 billion. However, the fastest-growing e-retailer in the Europe 500 is neither American nor European: Tokyo-based Rakuten Inc. grew 650% to $786.4 millionin 2012 online sales.