Share of online grocery shoppers hasn’t changed in Germany

About one in four online shoppers in Germany have ordered foods or drinks online. This percentage is the same as it was last year, when 28% of online consumers shopped groceries online. A new study shows that about nine in ten shoppers are satisfied with shopping groceries online, only 7 percent is somewhat dissatisfied with the experience.

The study was conducted by Bitkom, the same organization that said one in four Germans has bought groceries online, last year. So the share of online shoppers who bought groceries online hasn’t changed in twelve months, but we now have more information about where exactly Germans buy their groceries online.

43% shopped online at traditional supermarkets
Whether it’s a fruit basket, wine, a dinner box, typical American snacks or distilled beverages, nowadays there are so much foods and drinks you can online. Bitkom asked a representative group of 1,111 online shoppers where they shopped their groceries online. 43 percent of them have chosen for the online shops from supermarkets who also operate physical stores, such as Rewe.de or Bringmeister.de. And 38 percent ordered from pure online grocery retailers who have an extensive products assortment, such as Mytime.de or Emmas-enkel.de. A further 18 percent of the online food shoppers shopped at an online retailer which sells specific products groups, such as wine or sweets. And 15 percent ordered from a traditional online retail or auction platform such as Amazon or eBay.

Attractive alternative to physical supermarkets
“For busy people, families or roommates ordering foods and drinks online is just an attractive alternative or addition to going to the supermarket”, says Bernhard Rohleder, CEO of Bitkom. “The stationary retail sector has recognized the potential and it has, in particular for the supplies of cities, set up corresponding storage and delivery logistics. But also innovative startups and digital businesses score with compelling, customer-friendly concepts. The rural areas will follow suit soon”, he says.

The proportion of online shoppers who also ordered groceries online has increased from 10 percent in 2012 to about 28 percent nowadays. This share is even 33 percent in the group of 30 to 49 year olds. Almost nine in ten online food shoppers bought perishable products such as noodles or floor, while at least 31 percent bought fresh food like fruits or vegetables online.

Of those shoppers who have already bought groceries online, 18 percent do this on a regular basis; 39 percent do it sometimes, 33 percent rarely and 9 percent have done it only once so far. Slightly more than one in three food shoppers (36%) was very satisfied with the purchase of foods and drinks online, while 55 percent said they were fairly satisfied. Only 7 percent was somewhat dissatisfied with the experience.

Why people don’t shop groceries online
Bitkom also asked why the people who don’t shop groceries online for the reason behind this. The survey shows that 60 percent say they don’t want to wait for delivery, while 59 percent have doubts about the freshness of the products. For 32 percent the shipping costs are a major obstacle, while 7 percent have privacy concerns.