Online retailing in Germany is recovering, with the majority of consumers engaged and 3.5% growth in early 2025 culminating in a market value of €39.8 billion.
Online Retailing in Germany — Current Landscape
The dominance of online-only players in the German retail market continues to pose a challenge to omnichannel retailers, as most buyers shop only online. Chinese platforms like Shein and Temu have leveraged competitive pricing strategies and extensive offerings, further disrupting the retail sector in Germany.
However, inherent trust issues in social commerce pose a challenge for online retailing Germany, with many online shoppers perceiving it as risky — brands must address this to capitalise on its potential.
Despite these challenges, there are exciting opportunities for innovative brands. Leveraging the rise of social commerce, especially among Gen Z, offers a strategic way to engage. Brands can also revamp the omnichannel shopping model by integrating online and offline interactions to meet the needs of tech-savvy consumers. Offering personalised subscription services for regular delivery of essentials can attract busy high earners seeking convenience, boosting customer loyalty and satisfaction.
Germany Online Retailing Statistics
- Online Retailing Trends in Germany: Browsing online now plays an essential role, with 67% of shoppers visiting online stores just to browse, jumping to almost 80% of Gen Z. And, among Gen Z shoppers, 69% are encouraged to shop more with good imagery.
- Market Challenges in Online Retailing Germany: The inherent trust issues in social commerce pose a challenge, as 28% of online shoppers perceive it as risky.
Online Retailing Germany Report — What’s Inside?
Key Topics Analysed in this Report
- Performance overview of the online retailing market in Germany, including a five-year outlook.
- Product categories purchased online and frequency of online shopping.
- Retailer categories used when shopping online.
- Customer satisfaction with recent online purchases.
- Online shoppers’ perception of social media shopping.
- Consumer behaviours when shopping online, including consumer interest in visual browsing, AI personalisation, and the convenience of subscriptions and home delivery.
Meet the Expert Behind the Analysis
This report is written by Armando Falcao, Associate Director. Armando had over 15 years of experience in market research when he joined Mintel in 2019 to write the European retail reports. He rejoined Mintel in 2023 as Associate Director, focusing on the German market. Armando studied Business and Economics at the University of São Paulo and managed his own research business for 11 years prior to joining Mintel.
The online retail sector in Germany is on the rise again, fuelled by more than just transactional purchases. Browsing websites has become a popular pastime, opening up new opportunities to embrace social shopping and enrich the discovery experience.
Armando Falcao
Associate Director — Retail Reports
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Opportunities
- Market size & forecast
- Outlook
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OPPORTUNITIES
- Leverage excitement around social commerce
- Unlock social commerce growth by building trust among younger shoppers
- Drive urgency and interaction in social commerce with strategic collaboration
- Leverage younger families as trusted ambassadors for social commerce
- Drive ethical consumerism with affordable sustainability
- Help consumers redefine their digital responsibility
- Boost online sales by catalysing eco-friendly innovation
- Unlock the convenience of tailored subscriptions
- Capture higher-earners with subscriptions for home delivery of essentials
- Retain high-earning shoppers with smart, predictive and convenience-based services
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THE CONSUMER
- Online shopping in Germany
- Fashion is the most widely purchased category online
- Graph 1: products purchased online, 2025
- Fashion is a clear favourite
- Online shopping is widespread in Germany
- Fashion and home purchases skew toward older buyers
- Graph 2: online shoppers’ average age and net household income, by product category, 2025
- Leverage engagement of older and more-affluent online shoppers
- Online shopping frequency peaks among Younger Millennials
- Graph 3: frequency of online shopping, by generation, 2025
- Shopping frequency – driven by convenience and disposable income – is high
- Retailers used when shopping online
- The young drive online shopping at multichannel retailers
- Online shopping at retailers with stores is driven by the young
- Graph 4: retailers used to shop online, by age group, 2025
- Leverage AI technology and marketing to target older online shoppers
- Household type determines consumers’ choice of online retailer
- Graph 5: retailers used to shop online, by household type, 2025
- Target families’ specific needs
- Online-only retailers dominate the landscape
- Enhance the omnichannel experience to better compete with online-only giants
- Satisfaction with online purchases
- Nine in 10 are satisfied with variety and ease of finding products
- Graph 6: customer satisfaction with their most recent online purchase, 2025
- Boost satisfaction with wider choices in range and delivery options
- Range satisfaction with toiletries and cosmetics
- Satisfaction varies across categories
- Graph 7: online shoppers’ satisfaction with their most recent purchase, by product category, 2025
- Improve online satisfaction with smarter delivery solutions
- Key Driver Analysis: satisfaction
- Boost online engagement by helping shoppers feel less overwhelmed
- Perceptions of social media shopping
- Address trust issues to boost social commerce
- German social commerce is still in its infancy
- Leverage social commerce’s convenience perceptions
- Graph 8: shopper perceptions of social media shopping, by generation, 2025
- Win over younger shoppers by making social media shopping fun and trustworthy
- Social media shopping perceptions vary by platform
- Graph 9: perceptions of social media shopping, by social media platform used, 2025
- Master platform-specific strategies to boost social media sales
- Leverage the convenience of social media shopping
- Perceptions of social media shopping vary by product type
- Graph 10: perceptions of social media shopping, by product category purchase online, 2025
- Tailor social media sales strategies to product category
- Behaviours when shopping online
- Online shopping is highly visual and browsing-based
- Capitalise on online window-shopping
- Graph 11: consumer behaviours when shopping online, 2025
- Improve imagery and decision-making tools to minimise returns
- Embrace a desire to browse
- Engage families as brand ambassadors for social media shopping
- Graph 12: online shoppers who would buy a product directly from a social media platform, by household, 2025
- Premium delivery is key to reaching the young and the wealthy
- Sustainable shopping habits impacted by financial situation
- Graph 13: online shoppers buying at European retailers only, by financial situation, 2025
- Graph 14: online shoppers feeling guilty about the environmental impact of online shopping, by financial situation, 2025
- Unlock the power of AI to delight affluent shoppers and young parents
- Leverage AI chatbots to enhance the customer experience
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RETAILER ACTIVITY
- Leading retailers
- Domestic revenues of Germany’s leading online retailers
- Marketplaces face pressure from Chinese platforms
- Online retail innovation
- TikTok Shop launches in Germany
- Voice assistants are common, but voice commerce still needs ramping up
- dm to launch online pharmacy in Germany
- Amazon launches ‘Buy for Me’ to target automated online shopping
- Same-day delivery with Uber Courier
- Otto launches technology and advisory services
- Roblox unlocks commerce with in-game shopping for physical items
- Subscription commerce: Mister Spex launches subscription for glasses
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MARKET
- Market drivers
- Germans are slowly recovering from economic uncertainty
- Graph 15: harmonised consumer price index, by category, 2022-25
- Despite improving confidence, focus remains on value
- Graph 16: changes in financial situation vs previous year, 2023-25
- Generative AI is transforming how consumers shop
- Ethical and sustainability concerns are crucial online
- New EU ecommerce law and legislation planned
- Market size and forecast
- German online retail expected to grow by 4.5% in 2025
- Graph 17: online retail sales (exc VAT), 2016-25
- 2025 marks a turning point for German online retail
- Convenience and higher personalisation to drive online retail growth
- Graph 18: online retail sales and forecast (exc VAT), 2019-30
- AI personalisation and social commerce to drive online growth
- Forecast – a note on US trade disruption
- Impact of US trade disruption on the online retailing market
- Market segmentation
- Fashion and electronics represent nearly half of online retail sales
- Graph 19: breakdown of online retail sales by product category, 2024
- Market segmentation evolution
- Online shifts as fashion and electronics decline in favour of everyday essentials
- Channels of distribution
- Marketplaces attract over half of online retail sales
- Graph 20: breakdown of online retail sales by retailer type, 2020-25
- Marketplaces continue to gain relevance in German online retail
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APPENDIX
- Report scope and definitions
- Market definition
- Generations
- Abbreviations
- Methodology – consumer research
- Consumer research methodology
- A note on language
- Methodology – Key Driver Analysis
- Key Driver Analysis (KDA) methodology
- Key Driver Analysis methodology
- Methodology – market size and forecast
- Forecast methodology
- Forecast methodology – fan chart
- Market size – value – online retail sales
- Market forecast and prediction intervals – value – online retail sales
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