The volume of returned parcels in the German interactive retail sector has been reduced in thelast 12 months and the willingness of companies to invest has increased to a record high as the
industry has clearly outperformed the overall economy, according to the latest B2C study by theGerman e-retail association (bvh).The study conducted in spring this year has shows that only 1 in 5 German online retailersrecorded increasing return shipment volumes (20%), which equals a decrease of 5% compared to lastyear. In turn, the percentage of the companies reporting declining return volumes has increased to16%, which is 5% more on the last year.
“It remains to be seen how the returns trend will develop in the coming months. Currently, thecompanies surveyed expect a slight increase once again with 23%, a 3% increase compared to thespring results. Ultimately, the decline in the return rate is also the result of the efforts toreduce costs through efficient returns management and thus improve the profitability of thecompanies,” bvh executive director Christoph Wenk-Fischer said.
In addition to the reduced return rate, the willingness of the companies in the Germaninteractive trade to invest increased to its highest level in spring 2013 with 83%, a 2% rise on2012. The outlook for the next few months also remains positive, especially as the nature of theplanned investments reflects the continuing economic optimism. The most mentioned types ofinvestments among online and distance traders are capacity expansion with 37% (+3%) and innovations(37%, -2%).
Not surprisingly, the use of social media keeps rising as companies aim to communicate moreclosely with customers. 7 out of 10 retailers (70%) are using social media to deepen businessrelations with their customers and enable better communications. This represents a year-on-yearincrease of 5%.
Published for a second year in a row, the annual study “The economic situation in Germaninteractive B2C trade 2012/2013” reviews the business situation and expectations of Germaninteractive retailers and their use of social media and social commerce. For this year’s study,over 220 interviews were carried out with decision-makers during spring this year to obtain acomprehensive picture. The study was produced in cooperation with Creditreform Boniversum GmbH(Boniversum).
In general, the interactive trade in Germany remains in a strong cyclical phase in spring 2013,ahead of the economic situation in the country. Even though there is no sign of a distinctiveeconomic slowdown with the overall macroeconomic climate still being positive, forecasts for thenext few months are ambivalent in view of unresolved problems in the Euro zone and globallyinconsistent growth incentives.
While e-commerce remains the key driving force of domestic consumption in Germany, the recordhigh of the previous year couldn’t be fully reached. Despite the overall reviews being aboveaverage, the situation in terms of orders, sales, revenues and employment is evaluated in a morenegative way than during spring last year. But the German online and distance trade still remainsin an excellent financial situation thanks to the continuously stable private consumption, bvhstressed.
Larger players in the German interactive trade with revenues of more than €5 million and over100,000 customers are currently evaluated in the most positive way.
