Amazon holds 63% of German online retail

Including its marketplace, Amazon has a 63 percent share of Germany’s online retail market. Almost all German online shoppers buy from Amazon, which also has a major impact on physical retail. The company directly or indirectly influences 41 percent of German spending in the product categories studied.

This emerges from a new study by IFH KÖLN (Institut für Handelsforschung) and General Evidence. According to the researchers, sales generated via Amazon in Germany reached 69.1 billion euros last year, up 3.2 billion euros, or 5 percent, from 2024.

Selling partners dominate

Overall, Amazon accounted for 63 percent of total online spending in Germany last year. The lion’s share came from selling partners: together, they accounted for 46.1 percent of online retail spending in Germany, while Amazon itself accounted for 17.2 percent.

59% of German online shoppers are Prime members

Of online shoppers in Germany, 97 percent shop on Amazon, according to the representative consumer survey. 59 percent have a Prime membership. Amazon continues to invest in its logistics network in the country.

Shein and Temu gain ground

IFH KÖLN stresses that Amazon is gradually facing somewhat stronger competition in Germany. Otto and Zalando saw their combined sales in their home market increase by 1.4 billion euros last year, while Shein and Temu recorded combined growth of around 1 billion euros. That is less than Amazon’s 3.2 billion euro increase, but in relative terms the Chinese platforms are closing the gap.

1 in 8 Amazon shoppers switch to Chinese platforms

One in eight consumers says they are shifting some purchases to Chinese platforms, according to the researchers. They are mainly driven by price, judging by IFH KÖLN’s press release: “On key performance indicators such as product range, ease of ordering and delivery speed, however, Amazon still clearly performs best from the consumer’s perspective.”

Offline impact

Amazon’s dominance in Germany is not limited to the online channel. The company accounts for 17 percent of all retail spending (online and offline) in the categories studied.

Amazon also influences a further 24 percent of spending in these product groups.