According to Practical Ecommerce, Germany hosts Europe’s biggest economy and, with 83.7 million people, its second-largest population, after Russia. It is the fifth-largest ecommerce market in the world and the second-largest in Europe, behind the UK. 

Consequently, Germany has experienced a surge in online sales during the coronavirus pandemic – especially for groceries and pharmacy items – and caught the attention of shoppers who were not previously regular ecommerce customers. The products that are currently flourishing online are food and hygiene products, while online fashion sales have declined. 

Moreover, 70% of Germany-based online shoppers say they shopped more online and less in physical stores in June 2020, while 7% stated they shopped more in physical stores and less online. Additionally, shoppers stated they will buy less overall but will do more of their purchasing online in July 2020.

Furthermore, German consumers prefer to shop from ecommerce sites that are in their native language and have a ‘.de’ domain, according to the Germany 2020: Ecommerce Country Report from RetailX. Therefore, cross-border sales are lower than in other European countries, with more consumers purchasing from national retailers. 

Also, Germans like to return items, thus online merchants selling in Germany should be prepared for a high return rate. Apparel returns are roughly 40%, as German law requires retailers to offer a 14-day return period.

Regarding preferred payment methods, a unique aspect of German ecommerce is the large number of consumers who still pay via invoice, meaning that consumers can receive and examine their goods without having to pay upfront. However, they are slowly shifting to digital payments, as PayPal accounts for 56% of online payments, with invoices at 26%.