Exporting ecommerce

Germany’s ecommerce market is one of the most attractive in the world, worth more than £60bn.

Expected to rise by nearly £7bn in 2017 alone, it is no surprise that forward-thinking retailers are looking to establish a digital footprint in the region.

Many of the UK’s most famous names have found that German consumers have a taste for British brands, which is why mastering the art of German ecommerce could be the key to profiting in this flourishing retail market.

However, entering a foreign market against already established competitors comes with its share of difficulties.

In this interactive guide and podcast series, in association with Exporting is Great, we’ll provide you with the shortcut to online success in Germany by explaining how the UK’s best retail exports have overcome their ecommerce challenges.

Learn how to grow your business internationally with our digital guide, which includes:

• An interactive map pinpointing Germany’s retail hotspots, making it easy to decide where (and how) to invest
• A three-part podcast including interviews with industry experts and real-life retailer case studies
• Exclusive consumer research granting you unrivalled access inside the mind of the German online shopper

This guide is the first in a series of digital reports exploring online trading overseas.

In this unique three-part Retail Week podcast we’re looking at the nuances of the German etail market and consumer in comparison with the UK, in order to help you plan your expansion into the world of German ecommerce.

Interactive map: Germany’s top retail hotspots 

When expanding internationally you need to be conscious of a country’s regional characteristics.

Using findings from exclusive Retail Week research, in partnership with Exporting is Great, we’ve plotted a map through Germany’s most economically exciting regions.

By examining the local economy and buyer behaviour, our interactive map provides a detailed overview of the 10 most interesting states in Germany from a retailer’s perspective.

For best results, view this map on your desktop computer.

How do consumers prefer to shop online?

Exclusive new research conducted by Retail Week, which involved surveying 1,000 German online consumers, provides a comprehensive analysis of consumer behaviour in Germany. 

With a nationally representative split across gender, we’ve broken down the findings into region (as found in Chapter 1’s interactive map) and age demographics, as seen in the charts throughout this guide.

Truly getting inside the mind of the German online shopper, our research uncovers:

• The devices and online platforms they prefer to use when shopping online
• What guides their decision to purchase and influences them to buy
• Why they would leave a retailer’s website without completing a purchase
• What is most important for a retailer to provide, from product choice to preferred payment methods and fulfilment options

How are German consumers spending online?

Although overall German consumers only spend slightly more via desktop than on mobile, regular shoppers are significantly more likely to do so on a computer.

Over a third of consumers (37%) say they never shop via their mobile. If you compare that with the UK, where 86% of digital shoppers have made a purchase via their smartphone, we can see that mobile ecommerce is currently of much less interest to German consumers.

What motivates consumer purchases?

The leading reasons behind purchasing any product are very typical of a German consumer’s discounted, yet quality conscious, mindset.

Buying decisions are predominantly based on the product being low price but high quality – a seemingly contradictory view.

Another stereotypical representation of the German consumer can be seen in what they view as the most essential attributes of a retailer’s website.

Apart from plenty of product choice, clear pricing and fulfilment information dominates their top five needs when shopping online.

Favoured retailer attributes when shopping online

Lots of product choice 72%
Clear pricing information 71%
Clear delivery information 60%
Clear payment and currency options 53%
Clear returns information 47%

How do consumers prefer to pay online?

Online retailers in Germany offer on average five different methods of payment to customers; Paypal, invoice, Direct Debit, credit card and cash on delivery.

In stark contrast to the UK, invoicing is still one of the most popular payment types in Germany for online goods and services.

Even the youngest age bracket of millennials still view invoicing as an essential payment type when shopping online, with 37% choosing it as their preferred method of payment.

What is most important in terms of fulfilment?

The German consumer’s price-conscious mindset comes back into action when looking at deliveries.

Over a third of respondents (36%) view ‘free delivery’ as their most important need in the fulfilment process.

The German millennial’s desire for fast deliveries is abundantly clear when looking at the methods the nation currently uses. 

Same-day delivery is six times more important for the youngest age bracket than the oldest. When splitting the data by gender, we also see that men are three times more likely to want their products to arrive the day of purchase than women.

Thank you to our contributors

Exporting ecommerce
How to thrive online in Germany

Written by Isobel Chillman
Produced by Red Apple and Emily Kearns
In partnership with Exporting is Great