E-commerce revenue in Germany 1999-2024
In 2023, the German B2C e-commerce sector generated around 85.4 billion euros in revenue. For 2024, forecasts predict 88.3 billion euros. As is evident in the timeline, figures have only been increasing year after year.
Growing and growing
Online shopping is on the rise, and with the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this trend has only increased. On the one hand, businesses which may not have had a large online presence previously were forced to consider either expanding in that direction or facing severe economic distress due to closures and restrictions. On the other, consumers could not go shopping as usual due to non-essential shop closures by the government to curb the spread of the virus, and therefore turned to online shopping. However, even before the pandemic, the convenience and appeal of buying on the internet only grew. Simultaneously, so did the pressure on postal and delivery services, as well as employees of such online e-commerce giants as Amazon. The rise of B2C, for all its progress, also brings to the fore various discussions concerning sustainability, employee rights and ethical production. Nonetheless, B2C sales in Germany are predicted to record enormous figures in the near future.
Top hits
The absolute leader among German online shops was amazon.de, where anyone can buy virtually anything. A contributing feature is undoubtedly Amazon's Prime delivery option, which guarantees faster delivery of certain goods for those subscribed to Prime. The other two in the top three online heavyweights included multichannel German e-retailer Otto and the fashion powerhouse Zalando.
