E-commerce in Germany continued double-digit growth in the second quarter of 2015 with a strong 14% increase in sales of physical goods following 10% growth in the first quarter, according to the German e-commerce and distance-selling association bevh.
The overall interactive retail sector, including the declining traditional mail-order business, posted solid growth of 11% in the second quarter, up from single-digit growth of 8% in the first quarter.
During the April-July 2015 period, interactive retail sales in Germany increased by 11% to €12.3 billion. E-commerce sales of goods grew by 14% to €10.8 billion, with their share of the overall interactive trading sector rising by 1.7% to 87.7%, according to the association’s quarterly sales survey. In addition, revenues from digital services generated €3.1 billion during the second quarter.
The positive development of the interactive retail sector and continuing strong consumer confidence since the beginning of the year benefited most of the product groups in the e-commerce sector. As the leading category, the clothing sector recorded 6% growth with revenues reaching €2.8 billion in the second quarter. The growing segment of consumer electronics is continuously booming with a 28% increase and revenues of nearly €2 billion. The third most popular product group still comprises books and e-books which, however, saw a slight decline of 6% to over €0.9 billion.
Emerging e-commerce segments include furniture & decoration articles as well as groceries with double-digit growth rates.
“After a slight slowdown in the previous year, 2015 is going very well for our industry. Especially when looking at the product groups which couldn’t profit from the strong e-commerce growth in the past, we can see the potential the interactive trade is bearing. The fact that established e-commerce and young market segments grow so strongly is an excellent sign and confirms the function of our industry as the growth driver of the retail trade,” bevh executive director Christoph Wenk-Fischer said.
In terms of different shipper types, multi-channel retailers remain the clear winners profiting from the industry growth generating €4.3 billion in revenues in Q2 2015, which corresponds to 35% of the overall revenues. The internet pure players could also increase their market share to 13%, up from 10% in Q2 2014, with revenues reaching €1.5 billion. Online market places continue to lose market share with revenues growing 3.9% less than the overall e-commerce trend. However, they still keep their dominant position with revenues worth €6 billion accounting for 49% of the industry revenues, down from 53% last year with €5.8 billion.
For the third year in a row, Bevh’s long-running consumer study “Interactive Trade in Germany” is featuring an updated design, in cooperation with the GIM-Society for Innovative market research, with 40,000 consumers being interviewed regarding their shopping behaviour in online and distance trade compared to 30,000 previously.
