Germany

Superwinkel.nl, an online department store from the Netherlands, has expanded to Germany. Last month, the ecommerce company opened the digital doors of Supershop.de. This is not the first time the retailer sells in Germany, as it has been selling products through Amazon Germany since October 2017.

The very first multi-label parcel shop of Germany has opened its doors in the city of Hamburg. DPD, Hermes, GLS and UPS are united in a parcel shop where customers can pick up or drop off packages from any of these logistics companies.

eBay has launched two new services in Germany to help retailers selling their products online: eBay Fulfilment and eBay Shipping.  With the fulfilment program and logistics solutions, eBay sellers are now in the position to offer next day delivery.

Ecommerce software provider Intershop introduced its commerce-as-a-service solution in February of this year. This software solution is an important strategical milestone in the company's cloud-first strategy. Ecommerce News Europe interviewed Sales Director EMEA Gerrit Enthoven about the current state of affairs.

Although ecommerce in Germany continued to increase last year, the growth is increasingly shifting to the top online retailers. Smaller online stores in Germany can hardly grow anymore.

Payments companies Klarna and Mollie will work together more intensively in Europe. As of today, the payment solutions from Klarna will be available as standard for the more than 55,000 customers Mollie has in Europe.

Ten years ago, Mister Spex disrupted the traditional optics industry by launching an online platform. Now, with over three million customers and, on average, 15,000 orders per day, the company has become the most successful online optician in Europe. Ecommerce News Europe interviewed Carsten Hennig, head of international at Mister Spex.

Bevh, the German association of ecommerce and mail order, wants to have more online orders delivered to home letterboxes. It will work closer together with VDBF, the association of the German envelope industry, to make this happen.

Germany-based ecommerce software provider Commercetools will invest 17 million dollars (14.45 million euros) in international growth and development. The software company wants to expand further in the Asia-Pacific region, but will also be focusing on the United Kingdom, the Benelux, Scandinavia, and North America.

Amazon has launched its latest website: Amazon Storefronts. This is a new store for customers to shop from small and medium-sized businesses that sell on Amazon and learn more about them through videos and stories. Amazon Storefronts is now active in the US, the United Kingdom and Germany.

eBay is now offering its brand authentication program in Germany. eBay Authenticate, or eBay-Echtheitscheck in German, currently only accepts luxury watches from leading brands, but other brands and product categories will follow soon, the US company says.

Ecommerce in Germany increased significantly in 2017. The top 100 of online retailers in Germany generated sales with a total value of 30.5 billion euros. Compared to what they sold one year before, this is an increase of 11.3 percent. The number one is still Amazon, with a turnover of 8.8 billion euros.

Madeleine Mode, a multichannel retailer of high-quality fashion items for women, has expanded its delivery reach across Europe. The online store now delivers to customers from all European Union countries.

Zooplus, a major online retailer of pet supplies, has entered a new market. The German company launched Zoobee, an online supermarket that sells all kinds of foods and drinks for human beings. As it's still a Zooplus brand, the online supermarket also sells pet supplies.

The Otto Group is looking for a strategic partner for essential parts of its parcel delivery service Hermes. The German retail group is even ready to sell a majority stake in Hermes. And that might be interesting for major ecommerce companies such as Amazon and Alibaba, looking to gain a foothold in the European ecommerce market.