Ecommerce in Austria was worth €7.3 billion in 2018

Ecommerce in Austria was worth 7.3 billion euros in 2018. Most of the money that Austrian consumers spent online went to foreign online retailers, although 3.3 billion euros still went to domestic ecommerce companies.

These numbers come from the Austrian Institute for SME Research [pdf], which has carried out a survey again this year. Currently, 88 percent of Austrians between 16 and 74 years old use the Internet and 60 percent buy products and services online.

Online shopping tripled in ten years’ time

In ten years’ time, the total spend on online shopping in Austria has more than tripled. In the year 2008, it was ‘only’ 2.4 billion euros that was spent online by local customers. And back then, it was just 34 percent of Austrian who shopped online, while in 2003 the share was even significantly lower, with 11 percent. But nowadays, like said, 60 percent of Austrian can be called online shoppers.

55 percent goes to foreign online retailers

Despite the growing numbers, there’s also a “massive downer”, says Peter Buchmüller from the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. “About 4 billion euros, or 55 percent of online spending, goes to foreign online retailers”, he explains. “In terms of sales and purchasing power to foreign online retailers there’s a need for action.”

Popular product categories in Austria

The most popular product category in Austria is still formed by clothing and sporting goods: 41 percent of Austrians buy products from this category online at least once a year. Books and magazines are in second place, although the number of online shoppers has decreased compared to the previous study in 2013.