For many entrepreneurs, Germany is the first hurdle in an international rollout. The country offers an enticing market that had e-commerce sales of 48.9 billion euros in 2017. In this blog post, we share German e-commerce statistics and the main differences between the German and Dutch markets. Read the whitepaper Push the limits of your webshop: how to achieve results in Germany to learn all about a successful webshop launch with our eastern neighbors.
Internet usage & speed
Although Internet penetration in the Netherlands is still higher than in Germany (96% versus 91% respectively), Internet use did increase much faster than in the Netherlands over the past six years. While the percentages in terms of Internet usage are getting closer together, the differences in terms of Internet speed are still large. Dutch Internet connections are almost half as fast as those in Germany. Especially in rural areas, internet speed leaves much to be desired. So keep in mind that all those nice bells and whistles that make your website more user-friendly in the Netherlands can make the user experience worse in Germany.
Gigantic potential
With 88.2 million inhabitants, the German e-commerce market is no less than five times larger than the Dutch market (17.2 million inhabitants). Although the number of Germans buying online is somewhat lower than here (75% versus 79%) and they spend slightly less (€1,274.00 versus €1,697.04), in absolute terms Germans still buy twice as much online than the Dutch. Total e-commerce sales in Germany support this picture (48.9 billion versus 22.51 billion).
The German Internet user
Do you know him: the German? Just as you are not the same as all other Dutch people, not all Germans are the same either. Nevertheless, pigeonholing does make it easier to identify similarities and differences between Dutch and German Internet users.
German and Dutch Internet users
In general, you can say that Germany is slightly behind the Netherlands in the online field, but is in the process of catching up. Despite the relative lag, Germany already has a market that is at least twice as large. If the above developments continue, this will result in a growth of the German market. Accordingly, the German Retail Association (HDE) expects to see e-commerce sales of 53.6 billion in Germany in 2018.
Get in touch
Do you also want to cross the border with your webshop, but could use some help with this? Let this be our expertise!
