eCommerce market in Germany

Germany is the 6th largest market for eCommerce with a predicted revenue of US$119,762.0 million by 2024, placing it ahead of India. Revenue is expected to show a compound annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2028) of 4.6%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$143,503.1 million by 2028. With an expected increase of 5.7% in 2024, the German eCommerce market contributed to the worldwide growth rate of 10.4% in 2024. Like in Germany, global eCommerce sales are expected to increase over the next years. Seven markets are considered by ECDB within the German eCommerce market. Fashion is the largest market and accounts for 24.2% of the German eCommerce revenue. It is followed by Hobby & Leisure with 24.0%, Electronics with 21.6%, Furniture & Homeware with 10.0%, Care Products with 8.5%, Grocery with 6.8%, and DIY with the remaining 4.9%.

Market development

eCommerce revenue development in Germany

Germany is the 6th largest market for eCommerce with a predicted revenue of US$119,762.0 million by 2024, placing it ahead of India. Revenue is expected to show a compound annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2028) of 4.6%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$143,503.1 million by 2028. With an expected increase of 5.7% in 2024, the German eCommerce market contributed to the worldwide growth rate of 10.4% in 2024. Like in Germany, global eCommerce sales are expected to increase over the next years. Seven markets are considered by ECDB within the German eCommerce market. Fashion is the largest market and accounts for 24.2% of the German eCommerce revenue. It is followed by Hobby & Leisure with 24.0%, Electronics with 21.6%, Furniture & Homeware with 10.0%, Care Products with 8.5%, Grocery with 6.8%, and DIY with the remaining 4.9%.

eCommerce revenue development in Germany

in million US$

eCommerce revenue growth in Germany

in %

Net eCommerce revenue split by sub-category

in %
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027
Revenue (in mUS$) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Growth (in %) 88.5 11.8 46.5 61.4 56.5 79.6 44.5 18.2

Online share

eCommerce online share in Germany

The online share refers to the proportion of the retail volume that is transacted via the Internet. It includes purchases via desktop PC, tablet or smartphone, both via website or app. Only retail of physical goods is taken into account. In the German retail market, the online share is 17.3% and will increase by an average of 5.5% to 21.4% by 2028.

eCommerce online share in Germany

in %
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027
Online share (in %) 33.5% 72.1% 81.6% 78.4% 3.3% 28.7% 30.3% 48.5%

Top stores

Top five online stores in Germany by net sales 2023

The biggest player in the German eCommerce market is amazon.de. The store had a revenue of US$17,068.4 million in 2023. Store rankings include every store that generates revenue in Germany. These stores can either have a national focus and only sell in their main country or operate on a global scale. For this evaluation, only revenue created in Germany was considered.

eCommerce net sales generated in Germany in 2023

in million US$
Filtered revenue / share
Global revenue
Growth
US$900.0m
20.7%
US$8,300.0m 8.3%
US$550.0m
12.0%
US$4,600.0m 12.4%
US$470.0m
3.9%
US$1,190.0m 33.6%
US$430.0m
20.6%
US$2,122.0m 18.0%
US$370.0m
20.7%
US$1,814.0m 12.6%

Payment Methods

Top 5 offered payment methods in the German eCommerce market

The German eCommerce market in 2023 in terms of offered payment methods is fragmented and dominated by a few providers with PayPal (E-wallets) covering the largest share with 93.1% of all online stores checked. Other offered payment methods in the German eCommerce market in 2023 are VISA (Cards) with 82.2%, Mastercard (Cards) with 82.1%, and Bank transfer/cash in advance (Bank transfer) with 77.3%. With 53.0% Sofortüberweisung (Bank transfer) has already a significantly smaller coverage compared to PayPal (E-wallets).

Top 5 offered payment methods in the German eCommerce market

in %

See all stores offering


Shipping Service Provider

Top 5 offered shipping providers in the German eCommerce market

With 85.4% of all online retailers using DHL it is the dominating shipping service provider in the German eCommerce market in 2023. DPD follows at a distant second, utilized by 24.5% of online retailers. Other shipping service providers, including UPS (United Parcel Service), GLS, and Deutsche Post, are employed by a significantly smaller proportion of online retailers.

Top 5 offered shipping providers in the German eCommerce market

in %