The currently poor consumer mood does not stop at online trading either. While the German Retail Association was still expecting online sales of around 91.26 billion euros at the beginning of the year, the forecast has now been lowered to 89.4 billion euros.
Compared to the previous year, this still corresponds to an increase of 5.8 percent, the HDE announced on Tuesday. Adjusted for price, the trade association forecasts an increase in online sales of around 2 percent. “The high inflation continues to leave clear traces in the retail trade,” says Stephan Tromp, deputy HDE managing director. “This also applies to online trade, which is feeling the effects of consumers’ reluctance to buy.”
2022 was the first year after the Corona Pandemic that online trade had to cope with a nominal loss in sales of 2.2 billion euros (-2.5 percent). In particular, those sectors whose sales increased during the pandemic recorded losses. According to the trade association, the fashion trade was able to maintain its high level in the overall market. The online share is still over 40 percent, according to the announcement.
Despite the current difficult situation in some sectors, the increase is still 43 percent compared to online sales in 2019, before the extraordinary boost caused by the corona pandemic.