Corona effect: German retail more digital than ever

The German digital association Bitkom commissioned a representative survey of more than 500 bricks-and-mortar and online wholesalers and retailers in Germany. According to this survey, 85% of the retailers currently sell their goods online (2019: 58%) – either exclusively or in addition to what they sell in their shops. Online marketplaces such as Ebay, Amazon or Zalando play an important and ever increasing role. 92 % of the retailers operate their own webshops; this figure has remained constant compared to 2019.

Overall, almost three quarters (72%) are active on Facebook, Instagram and the like – more than twice as many as two years ago, when it was only 28%. Cooperation with influencers is also gaining in importance: 8% now work with them, compared to less than 1% in 2019. Having their own website is standard for almost all retailers anyway (98%). "The Corona pandemic was a wake-up call for a large proportion of retailers," says Bitkom President Achim Berg.

Still, the majority of the retailers surveyed (73%) see themselves rather as laggards what it comes to digitisation. Berg: "If you want to digitise successfully, you have to make the topic a top priority – it has to become anchored in the heart of the company." This applies to large retail companies as well as to small shops.

Carpet Home-Newsletter: Click here for free newsletter subscription