Despite the continued weak consumer sentiment, consumers spent 2.8 percent more on goods in e-commerce between July and September than in the same period last year. In total, orders in the third quarter reached a value of 17,960 million euros (third quarter 2024: 17,475 million euros). This was announced by the Bundesverband E-Commerce und Versandhandel Deutschland e.V. (bevh) on 6 October. “Although growth compared with the second quarter has fallen by one percentage point. Yet given the declining willingness to purchase, this is a robust result,” said Martin Groß-Albenhausen, Deputy Chief Executive of bevh.
According to the association, daily necessities goods recorded the largest increase, rising by 8.1 percent to 2,196 million euros. Drugstore and perfume
assortments rose by 11.1 percent, the strongest gain. The purchase of medicines online continues to grow. In the third quarter, sales in this product group increased by 8.6 percent to 474 million euros.
“E-Commerce grows especially in the categories where there is still a high density of brick-and-mortar points of sale. This shows that consumers view online retail as an equal provider for all the products they regularly need to sustain their livelihoods,” said Groß-Albenhausen. “Prohibitions for certain categories, such as prescription medicines that have recently been brought up for discussion again, miss this reality completely.”
Sales in the category of computers, software, games and PC accessories developed the weakest: sales here declined by 7.7 percent.
The product-group cluster “Entertainment,” which in addition to such items also includes books, media, consumer electronics and telecommunications devices, declined slightly by 0.3 percent to 5,023 million euros compared with Q3 2024. An analysis of the origin of suppliers shows that companies from the Asian market were able to increase their sales by seven percent, and thus more than twice as fast as the overall market. Over the nine months, they were able to increase their volume by about a quarter. In the third quarter they reached a new high with a share of 4.9 percent of total e-commerce volume.
“This is an indicator of the ongoing thrift of consumers, which we also see in the
clear increase in orders for used goods online,” Groß-Albenhausen continues.
Sogenannte Re-Commerce-Angebote haben im dritten Quartal gegenüber dem Vorjahreszeitraum um 27,6 Prozent zugelegt, seit Jahresbeginn um 28,9 Prozent.
Das starke Wachstum der asiatischen Plattformen mache sich auch in der Erfolgsbilanz der verschiedenen Geschäftsmodelle im E-Commerce bemerkbar. Auf Online-Marktplätzen kauften die Deutschen für insgesamt 9.785 Millionen Euro ein. Das ist ein Wachstum von 4,8 Prozent gegenüber dem dritten Quartal 2024 und bedeutet einen Marktanteil dieses Versendertyps von 54,4 Prozent. Demgegenüber mussten unabhängige Onlinehändler (Pureplayer) leichte Umsatzrückgänge hinnehmen. Deutlich mehr haben die Deutschen laut in den Sommermonaten für digital vermarktete Dienstleistungen ausgegeben. Der Onlineverkauf von Tickets, Reisen und anderen Erlebnissen erhöhte sich um 8,1 Prozent auf 3.621 Millionen
