EHI releases the study 'Payment Systems in Retail 2021'

According to the study, consumers paid significantly more money per purchase at the checkouts of retailers in 2020 than in the previous year. This was not due to higher prices, but because significantly more goods were purchased. The frequency of shopping trips, however, has fallen, as has cash in retail which has decreased by EUR 29 billion. Card-based sales increased by EUR 20 billion. In 2020, customers paid 56.3% of stationary retail sales by card, whereas 40.9% was paid by cash. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Germans are going shopping less often, but spending more money, since the pandemic has resulted in stockpiling to avoid unnecessary contacts and reduce shopping frequency. These purchases are paid by card more often since contactless payment was promoted as the hygienically preferred payment method, especially at the beginning of the pandemic.

Due to the closing of many shops because of COVID-19 restrictions, online shopping has become more attractive for many customers and has resulted in a drop in sales of approximately EUR 10 billion in stationary retail. The study reports that the crisis has accelerated the decline in cash sales in stationary retail by at least three years. In addition to the significant growth in online business, card payments have increased throughout the crisis. With an increase in the share of sales by 6.5% points, or EUR 24.8 billion, the girocard is the most used card in stationary retail in Germany, well ahead of credit cards (plus 0.9% points). Stationary retail sales fell from EUR 445 to EUR 435 billion, seeing as the sales growth in hardware stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets could not make up for the high losses in fashion retailers (loss of 25-30%) and shift in sales to ecommerce. The share of contactless girocard transactions is currently 60%, making up approximately 55% of total girocard sales. The contactless share of credit cards is around 15% points higher. Mobile payment via smartphones is increasing with a trend of between 5% and 10% of all contactless transactions.

In 2020, the number of purchases made in German retail stores, which saw significantly higher average receipts, fell from 20 billion to 18.25 billion (-8.75%). The increase in purchase amounts, combined with a shift from cash to card-based transactions, resulted in a loss of 2.5 billion cash transactions. Statistically speaking, every German makes 220 physical purchases per year, where 66% (previous year: 72.9%) of purchases are still paid for in cash. Card-based payment transactions in stationary retail increased by 798 million. With 6 billion transactions per year, every third purchase is now paid for by card. Retailer's apps, increasingly including a payment function, digital receipts, self-checkout, and the future brick-and-mortar acceptance of online payment methods are becoming increasingly relevant for retailers. Around two thirds of all large retail companies will continue to invest in payment’s technical infrastructure in the near future in the interests of their customers.