E-commerce has significantly expanded its macroeconomic significance in recent years, and has markedly increased both the number of companies and employees as well as its share of the gross domestic product (GDP). This is shown by a study from Oxford Economics commissioned by the Federal Association of E-Commerce and Mail Order (bevh), which for the first time since 2021 clearly demonstrates the sector's contribution to the economy.
“The growth of digital commerce companies is sensational in a country whose traditional industries are, at the same time, characterized by uncertainty and concerns about jobs,” sums up Daniela Bleimaier of bevh, summarizing the results.
Although there has been consolidation in B2C online retail in recent years, e-commerce is today essential, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises to grow and to open international markets.
Gross value added up by 81 percent
The survey
summarizes the industry figures as follows: In 2024 there were around 140,000 digital trading companies (B2C and B2B) in Germany, generating revenue of €650 billion – of which €530 billion was in the B2B sector. The direct gross value added of these companies has risen by 81 percent since 2019 – almost four times faster than Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) in the same period (+22 percent).
Including their procurement expenditures and other indirect effects, the companies contributed €308 billion to Germany's GDP (4.33 trillion euros) last year, corresponding to 7.1 percent. If one only considers the direct contribution, the share was three percent of Germany's GDP.
E-commerce with higher employment than the automotive industry
Also significant is the effect on the labor market: 997,000 people were directly employed in digital trading companies last year, more than in the automotive
industry, which after several years of job cuts employed 772,900 people. Including those sectors dependent on e-commerce, such as logistics service providers, e-commerce companies secure 2.94 million jobs in Germany according to the study. That is twice as many people as live in Munich.
“Platforms have become the engine of the German economy and are replacing traditional value-creation models,” says Daniela Bleimaier.
The bundling of supply and demand yields knowledge with each transaction on the basis of which new, data-driven business models could be developed. Also in niches there are enough large data volumes to discover patterns, markets and opportunities – recently also with artificial intelligence.
A quarter of SME turnover is generated digitally
Indeed, the bevh notes, that especially small and medium-sized enterprises are active on platforms. Up to 66 percent of them sell via marketplaces – significantly more
than large companies (40 percent). Overall, already a quarter of the turnover of small and medium-sized enterprises is generated through digital means.
In business with private final consumers, online marketplaces have stood for more than half of total e-commerce revenue for years. Recently, the platform operator Scout24 displaced Porsche AG from the leading DAX index of the largest publicly traded companies in Germany
“Germany has been looking for ways to return to growth for years. E-commerce has found one. We are moving toward it too slowly,” says Bleimaier.
Therefore, from the association's perspective, the core task of policy is to ensure in the economically difficult situation that companies in Germany are not hampered by even more bureaucracy. Instead of tightening European requirements with additional national regulations, Germany should advocate for a practical, investment-friendly implementation, according to bevh in the press
