Statistics

The average shipping costs of the 100 largest online retailers in Germany have increased from 3.92 euros to 4.39 euros over the past two years. Fewer and fewer retailers offer free shipping as a standard. Nearly a quarter of companies charge return fees in some form.

The European Commission has conducted an investigation into online traders of second-hand goods. A majority of the companies involved in the so-called sweep may be in breach of European consumer rights and will be further investigated.

Zalando looks back on a successful year, with higher revenue, increased profits, and more customers. The company expects growth acceleration, driven by its successful ecosystem strategy. Zalando will also expand into three new countries this year: Portugal, Greece, and Bulgaria.

In the United Kingdom, 46 percent of online shoppers feel overwhelmed by the amount of options and information on retail websites. And one in five shoppers say that they stop shopping when they get a pop-up in the initial moments of a session.

Of the world’s 250 largest ecommerce companies, 95 have their headquarters in Europe. That is three more than in North and South America combined and significantly more than in Asia. Within our continent, Germany hosts the most headquarters.

Last year, 96 percent of Irish internet users made online purchases. The country has the biggest percentage of online shoppers, compared to other European countries. The Netherlands and Denmark also have high percentages, with 94 and 91 percent respectively.

A large share of German online store owners are dissatisfied with developments in the German ecommerce market. Strict regulations in the country about online sales seem to be the biggest hurdle for sellers, at least 60 percent of sellers are dissatisfied by the legal framework.

Last year, Amazon once again outpaced the ecommerce market growth in both Germany and the United Kingdom. Its revenue reached 39.6 billion euros and 36.7 billion euros, respectively. The American company has managed to withstand the rising competition from Chinese platforms, with growth in the United Kingdom accelerating even.

Over the past year, Amazon has delivered more than one billion products to Prime members in the United Kingdom on the day of order or the following day. The American company continues to invest in same-day delivery and its network of pick-up locations.

Between 2024 and 2029, Forrester is predicting an increase in online sales in Europe. It expects that online sales will grow from 389 billion euros in 2024, to 565 billion euros in 2029. Online sales will also take up a larger share of the total retail sales.

At least 47 percent of shoppers start their product search on marketplaces. The share of shoppers doing that is even higher in the United Kingdom, with 54 percent. This means that marketplaces are more often used to find products than search engines or brand websites.

After two years of decline, online product spending in Germany has increased once more. In 2024, spending reached 80.6 billion euros, an increase of 1.1 percent. Stronger growth is expected for this year.

Ecommerce giant Amazon has released a study indicating that joining the Climate Pledge Friendly program results in a 12.5 percent increase in sales for sellers on the marketplace. Especially products with low visibility profit from the program.

More than eight in ten Dutch people bought online in the first half of this year, a record. Especially for personal care products, medicines and vitamin pills, more consumers went online.

With 16.3 million monthly users, Temu is more popular in Germany than anywhere else in the European Union. The more well-known Shein attracts more attention in France, Spain, and Italy, but generates the most revenue in Europe in Germany.