Amazon influences offline retail in Germany

Amazon has a massive impact on retail spending in Germany, both online and offline. More than one-third of all purchases in physical stores are preceded by a search for information on Amazon.

This is reported by ECC KÖLN, a subsidiary of the renowned IFH KÖLN (Institut für Handelsforschung), in its periodic Trend Check Handel.

Starting point for online purchases

The research focuses on the shopping behavior of German consumers on digital marketplaces. Almost three-quarters of Germans (73 percent) consider them a good starting point for online purchases.

Older and new competitors cannot match Amazon, the absolute market leader in German ecommerce. For many, the American online marketplace is the first choice, far ahead of other established marketplaces like eBay and Zalando, local marketplaces, or providers primarily offering goods from Asia such as AliExpress, Shein, Temu, and Wish.

Market power

Amazon’s market power now extends far into physical retail. “Amazon determines online and offline shopping behavior,” reads the headline of ECC KÖLN’s press release, which presents itself as a catalyst for ecommerce in Germany.

‘Amazon determines online and offline shopping behaviour’

Both online and offline, Amazon is the number one source of information for purchases. Over one-third of all purchases (35 percent) in physical stores are preceded by a search for information on Amazon.de. For online purchases, this applies to even more than half of all transactions (52 percent).

Amazon drives shopping

Of the German consumers questioned, 20 percent would make fewer purchases if Amazon were no longer available, double the percentage from four years ago.

1 in 5 Germans shop more because of Amazon’s existence

Shein, Temu, and Wish

While Amazon has been fully embraced by German consumers, they are skeptical about relative newcomers from China, such as Shein, Temu, and Wish. As much as 41 percent of consumers indicate they never want to shop on marketplaces offering cheap goods from Asia.