According to management consultancy McKinsey & Company, Austria experienced the strongest growth in online purchases compared to the previous year and compared to 18 other EU countries. 1500 Austrians were interviewed. The number of digital users in Germany has risen the most with plus seven percentage points. The other places are Germany (+5 percentage points), Finland (+3) and Switzerland (+0.5). Digital usage has fallen in all other countries.
Above all, purchases in food retailing have grown significantly, they have doubled in Austria, and a quarter of those surveyed already use the majority of online shopping options, primarily for hygiene and care products, drinks and non-perishable foods. After all, 50 percent of this group buy fresh groceries online.
If delivery costs were lower and delivery times shorter, this would lead to a further increase in expenses. “Very few digital interactions generate sales. There is still great potential for companies here,” says Florian Bauer, partner from McKinsey’s Vienna office. In addition, Austrian consumers are dissatisfied with the digital channels offered by food retailers: no other sector has lower levels of satisfaction. Austrians are most satisfied with the channels and services of the banking industry.
The latter are more popular: the number of digital users increased by 29 percent for banking services. Almost 95 percent of those who use this already use online banking (plus 30 percentage points compared to 2021).
20 percent more Austrians used computers and smartphones for health services. In general, almost every third user distrusts digital offers for fear of becoming the victim of a cyber attack.
Source: Nachrichten
