41% of German shoppers prefer to pay on account

When it comes to paying, German consumers are rather conservative when they are shopping online. Four in ten Germans prefer to pay on account. The second most popular payment method is PayPal, favored by almost one in three online shoppers in Germany.

This can be concluded from a survey held by ECC Köln. According to this study, paying on account and PayPal are the most popular payment methods in Germany, followed by less popular methods such as credit card, direct debit or Sofortüberweisung.

Online consumers in Germany were asked the question: “Which of the following payment methods do you prefer to use or would you prefer to use for your online orders (whether or not they are offered)? And do you always use your favorite method when ordering online?”

For 86.6 percent of consumers, paying on account is ranked somewhere between the 1st and 5th place. And 41 percent of consumers say this method is their number one. PayPal ends in the top five of 78.3 percent, while 32 percent say this online payment method is their absolute favorite.

Difficult to launch alternative payment method

“It has become more difficult for payment service providers to convince consumers of alternative payment methods and to successfully get them on the market”, ECC Köln writes. ” For online retailers on the other hand, it’s increasingly becoming an obligation to offer the payment favorites in their online shop if they don’t want to lose consumers at the check-out.”

7 different payment methods per website

The study also shows that on average, German consumers have a choice between seven different payment methods when they are shopping online at German ecommerce websites. and although paying on account is really a favorite of German consumers, only 71 percent of online shops in this country offer this method.