Tashkent university of information technologies named after muhammad al-khwarazmi

MAIN PART
E-COMMERCE

Germany has one of the largest e-commerce markets in Europe. The number of e-commerce consumers, internet penetration and average amount spent per year is above the European average. In 2021, total sales amounted to USD 127.5 billion, which translates to a 24 percent growth compared to 2020. It is expected that the online population in Germany will increase from 62.4 million in 2020 up to 68.4 million in 2025. E-commerce penetration in 2021 reached 77 percent in the German market. As a result of strict COVID lockdown measures throughout 2020 and 2021, many German consumers have increased their online purchases and bought goods like groceries and sanitary items online for the very first time. Key reasons for consumers to shop online include home delivery (69 percent of online shoppers in Germany agree), 24/7 availability (64 percent), and convenience (60 percent).German consumers are rather risk-averse and expect high quality products. Websites and online stores are expected to be in German language. Smartphone penetration in Germany lies at 80 percent, with a social media penetration of 53 percent. The role of social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube or Instagram continues to be of high importance.

Popular e-Commerce Sites
The most popular online retailers in Germany in 2020 were amazon.de (net sales of USD 15.8 billion), otto.de (USD 5.3 billion), zalando.de (USD 2.2 billion), mediamarkt.de (USD 1.7 billion), and lidl.de (USD 1.2 billion). Combined, those five online retailers share 47 percent of the German E-Commerce market.
Product Categories
The most popular products purchased online include clothing (76 percent of online shoppers), shoes (73 percent), food & drinks (69 percent), consumer electronics (61 percent), books/movies/games (58 percent) and healthcare products (56 percent). It is further expected that toys and “Do it Yourself” (DIY) products will play an increasingly crucial role by 2025. Consumers are most price-sensitive in the clothing and food industries, whereas luxury product sales are most common for smartphones and shoes.
Online Payment
When it comes to payment, the most common methods are purchase on invoice, PayPal, direct debit and credit cards. Many websites accept bank transfers or invoice/buy now, pay later. Online customers have the right to cancel orders and return goods or services within 14 days, for any reason and with no justification. As a result, Germany is known for its high return rate, particularly in the fashion industry, where 32 percent of products purchased were returned in 2021.
Yes, e-commerce in Germany is popular and doing well. As many as 94% of Germans actively use the internet, and 83% of them buy something online at least once a year. So, how many people exactly use e-commerce in Germany? With a population of around 84 million people, almost 69 million Germans are shopping online – that’s a big market with great opportunities to explore. And how often do Germans shop online? In 2020, according to Statista – 29% of German consumers shopped online at least once a week, and 31% at least once a month. There is no doubt that Germans like shopping online and that investing in this market if done right, can be very profitable.One of the best channels to reach potential customers are social media platforms – 78.7% of Germans use them regularly. Every day, an average German spends almost 5.5 hours online, so you have a lot of time to attract their attention. To make sure you have a great start in the German e-commerce market we dived deeper into the details
The e-commerce market in Germany is steadily growing each year, reaching €99 billion in 2021.

Figure 3. Market size of e-commerce in Germany
Compared to the year 2020, revenue increased by 19% in 2021, which is a bigger growth than a year before – 14.6 percent. This trend is predicted to continue, as e-commerce is growing in popularity everywhere in the world, and German market is not an exception to this rule. German E-buyers. If you consider selling on the German market, you should keep cultural differences in mind. Trust, loyalty, familiarity, quality, and security are core values for German customers. As reliable traders are loved by German citizens, international sellers should strive to adapt their online stores to local communities (i.e. e-commerce website domains should have a national .de extension).
Apart from that, each website should include details about its owner in the footer. Quality marks, badges, certificates – all these elements should attract German buyers.
Note that according to German law, consumers have the right to return unwanted goods within 14 days for a specific reason. This applies to almost all goods. Items that aren’t subject to returns are custom-made products, hygiene products, e-books, games, CDs/DVDs, and event tickets. You have to expect that the number of product returns in Germany will certainly be higher than in countries without such regulations.