Germany

For the past three years, DHL has been charging German online retailers a surcharge for parcel deliveries in November and December. This year, an additional hefty fee will be added during two peak weeks. It could lead German online stores to focus more heavily on Singles Day.

Last year, Decathlon generated 26 percent of its German trade volume online. The marketplace's share within that has nearly doubled in just one year. The platform serves as a catalyst for growth for Decathlon, both in Germany and beyond.

Starting today, TikTok Shop is available in Germany, France, and Italy, where a total of 72.1 million users reside. Among the first sellers are About You and Nivea, as well as local merchants. “TikTok Shop opens new opportunities for brands of all sizes.”

Otto has grown faster than the ecommerce market in Germany over the past fiscal year, largely thanks to its popular marketplace. “The strong growth over the last 12 months gives us the utmost confidence that we are turning a corner after two challenging years”, says CEO Marc Opelt.

A majority of German ecommerce businesses are not happy with how the industry is performing. Only 6 percent of online sellers are ‘very satisfied’, which is the lowest that has been recorded since 2015. At the same time, the share of ‘very dissatisfied’ sellers has increased from 15 to 21 percent in one year.

One in fifty visits to medium-sized and small online shops in Germany results in a purchase. The conversion rate on desktops is slightly higher than on mobile devices. The differences between industries are significant.

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.

For several years, German Amazon customers have been able to return products without packaging. No shipping box or parcel label is required, making it easy for buyers. Now, the market leader is further incentivizing box-free returns: customers who use a box must pay a fee.

Well-known German sportswear manufacturer Adidas has grown its online presence. Last year, the company realized online sales of 4.3 billion euros. This was an increase of 6 percent.

Online personal shopping platforms Lookiero and Outfittery have announced that they are joining forces. The Lookiero Outfittery Group wants to become a European market leader in assisted online shopping.

eBay reported a revenue of 1.4 billion euros (1.5 billion dollars) in the United Kingdom last year, over a hundred million dollars less than the year before. In Germany, revenue remained more or less stable. The company is performing better elsewhere.

TikTok is boosting its European ecommerce operations. From now on, merchants can register to start selling through TikTok Shop in Germany, France, and Italy. Users of the social media platform in these countries will soon be able to place orders.

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.

This week, the winners of the E-Commerce Germany Awards were announced during a gala. There were 12 categories in which service providers competed for the title. Winners include Odoscope, Mollie and Sendcloud.

German online platform Otto is eliminating 480 call center positions. This results in layoffs of hundreds of employees. Several of the company’s customer service locations will be closed completely.