The turnover of German online retail business rose to €14 billion in the second quarter of 2017, according to data from the Bundesverband E-Commerce und Versandhandel (the Federal Association of E-Commerce and Mail Order).
Der Spiegel reports that online trade rose by 12% in comparison to the same period last year. Online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay accounted for almost half of the sales, however, retailers that combined online offers with stores noted a higher growth.
Growth Areas
The increase in furniture, lamps and decorative articles sold was particularly high (+33.9%). Home-improvement articles and flowers (+32.4%) followed closely behind, as well as computers, accessories and games (+29.7%).
Online grocery trade experienced a growth of 28.9%, to €272 million. However, within the context of the retail sector’s total turnover, the market share of online retail is still small.
Online sales in clothing and footwear rose by only 2.9%, to €2.6 billion, however, online trade has already secured a very high market share in this area. The turnover of books and e-books sold online decreased by 7.2%, to €826 million.
The Bundesverband expects a revenue growth of 11%, to €58.5 billion, for the e-commerce segment by the end of 2017. Overall, the total turnover of the German retail sector amounts to around €482 billion every year, according to the Handelsverband Deutschland.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Larissa Zimmer. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
