Kasia Davies
Research expert covering the German market
E-commerce in Germany - statistics & facts
E-commerce has been one of the most profitable markets to come from technological advancement, in Germany, however, it has not seen the same success as in other comparable countries. In 2023, e-commerce had a penetration rate of around 60 percent in Germany. By comparison, the United Kingdom was at just over 78 percent and the United States was at over 81 percent.
Although e-commerce revenue has declined over the past few years, it will likely pick up again. The element of convenience that online shopping offers, as well as the wide choice of products, is appealing to consumers and makes online shopping popular. Furthermore, as technology develops and shoppers are offered more features when making purchases online it will become even tougher competition for high street stores.
B2C market
General definitions of e-commerce can be summed up as follows: selling and purchasing goods and services via the Internet. B2C e-commerce is an area experiencing explosive levels of growth year after year. While at the beginning of the twenty-first century, B2C online revenue in Germany grew from one to three million euros, by 2023 figures neared 85 billion euros and were estimated to reach over 88 billion in 2024.Post-pandemic tumble?
Since 2021, e-commerce revenue in Germany has dipped slightly. This is likely due to people being able to go back to shops after the pandemic and therefore being less reliant on online shopping. The most frequented online store among German online buyers, with by far the highest revenue was amazon.de. Amazon’s wide range of products and competitive prices mean that for some consumers it is seen as a one-stop shop for online shopping. Despite the company’s popularity its revenue in Germany decreased each year from 2021 and 2023, going against the worldwide trend which displayed a consistent increase.What are people buying online?
It is clear that there is a preference for certain products when shopping online. The most popular category when it comes to buying items on the internet in Germany is electronics. Furthermore, the frequency of people purchasing online is quite high with over a fifth of Germans doing so several times a month. Forecasts on revenue development in German e-commerce broken down by segment suggests that online shopping is here to stay with the revenue of categories such as fashion and electronics expected to grow significantly.Although e-commerce revenue has declined over the past few years, it will likely pick up again. The element of convenience that online shopping offers, as well as the wide choice of products, is appealing to consumers and makes online shopping popular. Furthermore, as technology develops and shoppers are offered more features when making purchases online it will become even tougher competition for high street stores.
