B2C deliveries made up more than half of overall parcel volumes in Germany last year for thefirst time, boosted by the continuously growing e-commerce trade in the country, and are likely to
continue outpacing B2B growth, according to a new survey by the German e-commerce associationbevh.The study ‘E-Commerce and parcel services’, conducted by Hamburg-based market research firm MRU,revealed that more than 2.1 billion parcels were delivered across Germany in 2013, which representsa 5.9% increase compared to the previous year. The number of shipments destined to privateconsumers (B2C) shopping with online retailers and mail order companies increased by 10.9% toaround 1.1 billion. This brings the share of B2C shipments in the overall German parcel market to anew record of 52%.
The B2B market, which has been showing continuously lower growth rates over the last few years,accounted for only 37% of the overall parcel volumes last year with around 790 million shipments,the study found.
The remaining volumes were generated through C2B (returns) and C2C shipments with 7% and 4%respectively. While the returns rate seems relatively low with 7%, it proves that only a fewproduct groups such as clothes and shoes generate a high number of returned parcels. With otherproducts group such as electronics, returns remain an exception.
The best-selling product groups generating the bulk of the B2C parcel volumes included clothing(21%), books (17%), image and sound data discs (9%) and consumer electronics (7%). Shoes andhousehold appliances were also among the most popular products with 5% respectively.
A new trend is that furniture, including big items such as wardrobes or sofas, is also beingincreasingly ordered online (3%). What is still underdeveloped in German online trade, compared toother countries, is the grocery trade which made up only 1% of the B2C parcel volumes in 2013, thestudy showed.
The bevh study also looked at the effects that the ongoing e-commerce boom has had on parceloperators. Thus, the companies specialised mainly in the B2C business have especially profited fromthe developments. DHL, for example, recorded volume growth of 7.4% in 2013, compared to theprevious year, with Hermes also showing solid growth rates. This can be attributed to the growingonline trade in the first place. The parcel operators that are traditionally focused on the B2Bsegment registered a considerably lower growth, also due to the economic situation.
In view of the new customer requirements with regard to delivery speed and flexibility, courierservices now also profit from the e-commerce boom. There is now a trend towards online platformswhere customers can order their products to be delivered as quickly as within 90 minutes.
The study also highlighted that the growing parcel volumes, the increasing competition andchanging customer needs make adjustments in delivery indispensable, with the last mile representinga challenge both for the interactive trade and the parcel operators. This includes traffic problemsin urban areas, an increasing lack of drivers as well as the introduction of the statutory minimalwage.
Current research on the German market shows that customers are prepared to spend more when theyare offered additional delivery services. In a survey conducted in spring 2014, 28% of therespondents admitted that additional service options from the parcel operators motivated them toorder more items. bevh and MRU expect the customer satisfaction with the overall delivery processto play a much bigger role for the future success of the interactive trade while private andbusiness customers have different requirements.
Meanwhile, delivery within a fixed period of time or to an alternative delivery address is partof standard services provided by the parcel operators in the B2C segment. However, it is stilldifficult for highly standardised parcel operators to react to spontaneous demands of theircustomers, according to the researchers.
The most important delivery criteria for private parcel recipients turned out to be reliability(73%), speed (67%), security (62%), politeness (49%) and cleanliness (41%). “While parcel deliveryon a fixed day is highly demanded, this is not the case for same-day deliveries within 90 minutes,”commented MRU managing director Horst Manner-Romberg.
To adequately respond to the challenges emerging through growing volumes, the B2C deliverymodels on the last mile should be further expanded in the future, bevh and MRU suggested. Localtransport providers, for example, could complement the delivery options of the parcel operators tocope with peak volumes and to cover special delivery times, e.g. in the evenings and during theweekend.
“The study results show that both the interactive trade and the parcel market are equally facingchallenges and opportunities. Through better knowledge of the customers and their needs, furtherpotential can be exploited in the future,” bvh executive director Christoph Wenk-Fischerconcluded.
For the study, MRU interviewed 40,000 private individuals in Germany with regard to theirconsumer behaviour in the online and mail order trade. The calculation of the parcel volumes isbased, among others, on financial reports of the parcel operators and expert interviews.
