German Shoppers Prefer To Buy In-Store

A new survey of consumer preferences in Germany by Creditreform Boniversum revealed that, much like the majority of American shoppers, a majority of consumers in Germany prefer do their shopping in-store. Here are some of the key findings.

Creditreform Boniversum’s recent survey found that only 40 percent of internet users preferred to purchase goods online or via mail order in 2016 and that the rate of online as the preferred method had actually decreased since 2015 when it was 41.4 percent. Put another way, 60 percent of internet users in Germany prefer in-store purchases in 2016, more so than they did a year ago.

The particulars varied amongst demographics. For example, women in Germany were 5 percent more likely to make an in-store purchase than men. And while millennials are often viewed as the most tech-savvy and connected amongst us, a slightly higher number of internet users aged 18–29 reported that they were more likely to make an in-store purchase than their elders — at 60.6 percent.

It turns out that, in Germany, it’s the 30–39 age bracket that is most likely to make purchases online. About 46 percent of surveyed internet users in that age range reported regularly shopping online. Likewise, only 54.1 percent of Germans aged 30–39 reported that they prefer to buy in-store.

In the future, eMarketer predicted slow and steady growth in eCommerce sales growth in Germany. Its Nov. 2016 estimate found that retail eCommerce sales comprised some 7.3 percent of total retail sales. By 2020, projections put that figure at 9.3 percent.

The current figure compares well to the rate in the U.S., where eCommerce made up some 7.7 percent of total retail sales in the third quarter of this year. No word yet on whether or not it was also mostly due to Amazon in Germany, though it can safely be said that the retail giant accounted for a majority of online retail growth in the U.S.