In this blog post, we will introduce you to the two most important Bundesländer (in terms of online spending). Want to know more about all five main federal states? Then download the white paper Expand the borders of your webshop: how to get results in Germany.
Bundesland or province
Let's start by clarifying the term Bundesland. This, contrary to what you may think, is not the same as a province. The differences between German Bundesland and Dutch province extend beyond a difference in size of territory and number of inhabitants. Federal states are also structured differently politically, with their own government and laws, which are just as guiding as our national laws and national government.
Distribution of states by share of online purchases
A 2016 study of online spending in Germany found that the five largest federal states in terms of online purchases are North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Lower Saxony, Baden-Württemberg and Berlin. If we look at the federal states with the very largest share of online buying, we end up with North Rhine-Westphalia (with 20%) and Bavaria (with 19.1%). Both are federal states with booming industries, but otherwise the two Bundesländer have major differences.
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia accounts for as much as 20% of total online purchases. As such, it is also the Bundesland with the most inhabitants, at 17.9 mln. The largest cities are Düsseldorf, Köln, Arnsberg, Detmold and Münster. Furthermore, North Rhine-Westphalia is known for the Ruhr region, because of its large metal and steel industry. In fact, this is the most important economic region and many workers live in this state.
Bavaria
Bavaria, or Freistaat Bayern, is Germany's largest state if you look at surface area. Its population of 12.9 million is a lot lower than North Rhine-Westphalia, yet Bavaria accounts for 19.1% of total online purchases. A good reason for this may be that, despite a more conservative population, Bavaria is indeed the richest state. The state is known for its auto industry (the birthplace of BMW and Audi) and major cities include Nuremberg, Augsburg, Regenburg, Ingolstadt and Munich.
Read the white paper Expand the borders of your webshop: how to get results in Germany to find out which states you need to set your sights on to make your German webshop a success.
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