Germany

The British fashion retailer New Look want's to further benefit from the German market and has launched a local online shop. The company wants to get a share of the online fashion market in Germany with its wide product range and a daily selection of new styles.

Eight out of ten consumers in Germany want more control and flexibility when they are ordering products online. This includes the choice of delivery day and delivery time. Also, 88 percent think it's important to get not only comprehensive and transparent information during the order process, but also after the purchase is completed.

Shopware, the German provider of ecommerce software, has launched Shopware Connect. Now other ecommerce software systems and major suppliers can also access the system. In other words, it allows retailers to add products from other merchants, suppliers & manufacturers.

Amazon has launched its Dash Buttons in the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia, making these the first countries outside the US where Amazon sells its consumer goods-ordering buttons. Now European consumers can also reorder coffee, paper towels and detergent by hitting a simple button.

Amazon has cooperated with oil giant Shell to test its parcel delivery service Amazon Locker. The online merchant has put Amazon Lockers at ten different petrol stations in Munich. It is a test, so if all things go well, more Amazon Lockers at Shell stations across the country can be expected.

The sales of German fashion retailer Zalando during the second quarter increased by 25 percent compared to the same period last year. Sales were worth 916.4 million euros during these three months. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes amounted to 80.9 million euros.

Hermes has become the second logistics partner for Zalando in Germany, but this logistics company isn't a success with all Zalando customers. That's why the German fashion retailer offers customers, who absolutely don't want their packages to be delivered by Hermes, the opportunity to put Hermes on a black list. These customers will be helped by DHL.

Amazon is actively considering introducing its self-service parcel delivery service Amazon Locker in Germany. The first cities for a field trial have already been picked out. The American ecommerce company wants to test its lockers in Munich and Berlin.

About 47 million people in Germany have bought or ordered goods or services online for private use last year. This corresponds to 77 percent of the German internet users of 10 years and older. Compared to 2010, the amount of online shoppers has increased by around 20 percent.

Multichannel retailer Brillen.de raised 45 million euros from Technology Crossover Ventures. It is said to be one of the largest VC financings in Germany this year. With the fresh funding, Brillen.de wants to fuel the company's international expansion beyond the current markets of Germany, Austria, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Several European ecommerce companies have started trial delivery using the self-driving robots of Starship Technologies. Online food delivery services Just Eat and Pronto will be using the robots in London, while German retail chain Metro and logistics company Hermes will use the robots in Dusseldorf, Bern and another undisclosed German city.

Paymill, the German payment provider that filed for preliminary insolvency two months ago, has been acquired by Swiss payment service provider Klik & Pay. It seems like Paymill, which is seen as the German answer to US payment service Stripe, has been saved by the Swiss company and can now live on.

Shopware, said to be the largest shop system manufacturer of Germany, released version 5.2 of its ecommerce software. One of the biggest changes is the elimination of encryption software ionCube, thus making its software 100 percent open source.

DHL Parcel started offering its time-window delivery in major cities, but has now expanded this service by offering it all across Germany. Consumers now have the option to choose an evening time slot for their delivery. During the order process they can now select a two-hour time window between 6 p.m. and 9.pm.

Dutch shoe manufacturer Floris van Bommel was already active in Germany for several years now, but since last February it also has an online store in Germany. To grow further in the German ecommerce market, Floris van Bommel has now partnered with online marketing company Fingerspitzengefühl.