Around 57% of all German consumers do more of their shopping online than in brick-and-mortar stores, with 23% willing to give up offline shopping entirely, according to a survey by cashback provider Shoop.de.
The survey showed that two out of three young adults and 71% of consumers in their thirties prefer to shop online. Almost half of all consumers (49%) say that online shopping is more fun compared to visiting a store.
Online Benefits
Shoop says that convenience and transparency are the main reasons for the rise of online trade. In the survey, 87% of consumers named the easy comparison of prices and discounts as an incentive to shop online, while 86% noted that being able to shop at any time is an advantage.
Consumers also find online trade’s payment options convenient, such as direct debit, credit card or PayPal, however, only 29% of customers would like more retailers to introduce payments via app or smartphone in physical stores.
Great Potential
The survey reports that 73% of consumers want retailers to further adapt to customers’ needs and expand their product range, while 69% would prefer shopping in-store if the offers were better than those online.
Despite the advantages of online shopping, 58% of consumers value traditional retailers’ personal advice and service, and 42% look up products online before buying them at the store.
“Stores can’t comply with all of the consumers’ wishes, such as providing a comprehensive overview of all offers,” said Veit Mürz, CEO of Shoop. “However, even with German consumers discovering the benefits of online trade - the big product range, price comparison or different payment methods - stores still have great potential to attract customers. They just have to adapt accordingly.”
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.
© 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.
