Austria

Parcel volumes in Austria are growing significantly. However, the majority of packages, around 80 percent of the total, come from abroad. Amazon accounts for a large share of this parcel surge, and the influence of Chinese platforms is increasing. Local online retailers are losing out.

Kaufland has opened the virtual doors of its marketplace in Austria, the first country where the brand does not have physical stores. At the launch, Kaufland.at offers more than three million items from three thousand different sellers.

Online spending in Austria has grown by 5 percent in one year, reaching 10.6 billion euros. More than half of the expenditures are made in foreign webshops. "Dramatic”, says the Austrian Handelsverband.

Austrian online marketplace Shöpping is launching in Germany at the end of this year. By doing so, Austrian sellers will be able to reach a larger audience. At the same time, the marketplace will continue adding more retailers from the European Union to the platform.

Kaufland, one of the larger ecommerce platforms in Germany, is expanding to Poland and Austria this coming late summer. Schwarz Gruppe, the owner of Kaufland and supermarket chain Lidl, has more online plans: it is allocating 200 million for Lidl's ecommerce activities.

Pineca has launched an Austrian online store. This is the fourth new market that the online supplier of prefabricated wooden buildings has targeted in the last 14 months. The company now operates in nine European countries in total.

Only a fraction of online retailers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland offer free delivery for online orders. The largest group of sellers charges shoppers an average of between 2 and 5 euros for shipping.

Niceshops, an online retailer and ecommerce service provider from Saaz, Austria, is saying goodbye to 20 percent of its workforce. Cost savings are necessary to "economically stabilize" the company.

Preventing returns is a significant focus for online retailers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. On average, a return costs them between 5 and 10 euros, with some exceeding this range. Detailed product information is seen by entrepreneurs as the key solution.

French cosmetics company Yves Rocher is closing all of its branches in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. With the company’s current business model, it is no longer possible to operate sustainably and successfully. It will continue operating in those markets, but online only.

Zalando launches a body measurement feature to assist customers in the DACH region in finding their right size. They receive size advice based on their measurement by taking two pictures of themselves. With this tool, size-related returns should be reduced.

Austrian marketplace for refurbished electronics, Refurbed, has reached a financial milestone of 1 billion euros in turnover. The company is now active in eight markets.

While other flash delivery companies are downsizing or merging, Wolt is expanding its coverage area. With its launch in Vienna and Reykjavik, the Finnish company is now active in 25 countries, almost all of them in Europe. Wolt delivers orders for both restaurants and retailers.

Fashion platform Zalando is going to launch a fashion assistant powered by ChatGPT on the website and app. It will start with a beta version, which will be available to selected customers in Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Austria by Spring.

Furniture and houseware retailer Home24 is expanding its marketplace to more European countries. The platform for third-party sellers launched in Germany this summer. By the end of 2022, it will enter Austria, France and Switzerland.