This document summarizes key statistics and trends about e-commerce in Germany. It notes that Germany has the second largest e-commerce market in Europe, with over €44 billion in sales in 2016. The top online retailers in Germany are Amazon, Otto, Zalando, Notebooksbilliger, and Bonprix. Mobile commerce is growing rapidly, with smartphone sales increasing nearly 40% in 2016. Payment methods are expanding beyond traditional options to include PayPal, Klarna, and other digital wallets. Logistics companies like Deutsche Post DHL, Hermes, and UPS play a major role in shipping for online retailers in Germany. When selling to German customers, speaking German, prioritizing customer service and data privacy,

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Our Mission
The professionalisation of our members.
We have created a Europe-wide network of over
70,000 members, partners, experts, service providers, associations,
supporters...
Händlerbund - The 360° E-commerce Network.

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E-COMMERCE CAMPUS
NEWS
CUSTOMER SERVICE
PUBLIC AFFAIRSTRUSTLEGAL
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E-COMMERCE LAB

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General numbers
● 2nd biggest e-commerce market in Europe
● 82 million inhabitants
● 82 % of internet users are online buyers
● B2C e-commerce turnover in 2016: 44.2 billion EUR
● sales of goods in 2016: 52.7 billion EUR
Top 5 online shops in 2016 with highest turnover:
○ Amazon
○ Otto
○ Zalando
○ Notebooksbilliger
○ Bonprix

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Nature of customers
● 40 % shop online, 60 % shop in traditional retail
● 24 to 44-year-old most active in online shopping
● 28 % already ordered food online
● Medications are increasingly ordered online
Purchase decisions:
○ reviews from other buyers
○ price comparison
○ personal recommendations
● 30 % inform offline before buying online
● customers recognize reputable online retailers by provided
payment options, shipping and return conditions and online
reviews

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Mobile Commerce & Social Media
M-Commerce
● Sales via m-commerce increased in 2016:
○ PC +8 %
○ smartphone +39.5 %
○ tablet +53.2 %
● 69 % of mobile users also shop online
Social Media
● Only one in two adults was on social networks in 2016!
● Most popular App is WhatsApp
● Facebook and Twitter are most popular social networks

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Cross-border Commerce & Marketplaces
Cross-border Commerce
● 27 % of Germans shop abroad
● Retailers expand preferably to Austria and Switzerland
● only under 60 % of retailers are active beyond
German-speaking borders
Marketplaces
● Awareness of name, legal security and trust
● Most important MPs are:
○ Amazon
○ eBay
○ daWanda
○ etsy
○ Allyouneed

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Payment
“Classic” payment options:
● purchase on account
● direct debit
● prepayment
● cash on delivery
● credit card
Increasing online payment options:
● Klarna
● PayPal
● Wirecard
● Paydirekt
● Sofortüberweisung
● Wallets
● ...

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Logistics
Most important service providers are:
● Deutsche Post DHL
● Hermes
● UPS
● DPD
Customer expectations:
● fast, predictable and cost-effective delivery
● fast shipping
● tracking
● free returns, easy to handle

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Country Specifics
When in Rome, do as the Romans do ;-)
● German language is still indispensable
● High expectations in customer service
● Trust and security - important factors for online
shopping
● Data protection

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Your contact person:
Corinna Merbitz
International Business Development
Arcus Park
Torgauer Straße 233
04347 Leipzig
Tel.: +49 (0) 341 92 65 90
info@haendlerbund.de

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