More and more people in Germany no longer go shopping in a store, but order goods on the Internet. What were the biggest growth drivers?
Online trading in Germany continued its rapid growth in the second year of the coronavirus. Gross sales of goods in e-commerce increased by 19 percent to 99.1 billion euros in 2021, as the e-commerce association BEVH announced on Wednesday.
This means that every seventh euro available to people for household expenses was spent online last year.
«E-commerce is increasingly perceived as normal and customary. Its growth is stabilizing at a high level,” said BEVH President Gero Furchheim. In the exceptional state of the pandemic, digital trade with the secure supply of goods brings back a bit of normality.
Arrived in the middle of society
“Trade without e-commerce is already unthinkable, neither for consumers nor for retailers,” said the industry spokesman. The fact that e-commerce has arrived in the middle of society is also reflected in the age structure of the buyers. The rule that online trading is mainly used by younger people no longer applies. Buyers over the age of 50 are responsible for at least half of all purchases on the Internet.
The biggest growth drivers in the past year were again everyday goods such as groceries, drugstore products and pet food, with a sales increase of 36.4 percent. The market share of online trading is still small here. However, growth also continued in sectors such as clothing or electronics, where e-commerce has long played a major role. Clothing sales increased by 17.9 percent. Electronics and telecommunications increased by 11.9 percent and computers and accessories by 23.4 percent.
Online trade is also expecting growth to continue this year. The association assumes that e-commerce sales with goods will increase by 12 percent to more than 110 billion euros.
Source From: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
