Online trade continues to suffer from the reluctance of many people in Germany to buy. In the first quarter of 2023, online sales of goods were 19.4 billion euros, 15 percent below the previous year’s level, as the e-commerce association bevh announced on Wednesday in Berlin. The losses were particularly strong in the sale of shoes and clothing, jewelry and watches, as well as computers and other electronic items.
“People are deferring purchases that are not urgently needed, such as fashion, jewelery and entertainment items,” said deputy bevh managing director Martin Groß-Albenhausen. It looks better in ranges that serve daily needs or everyday household life In the product categories examined by the association, online food retail was the only order category with slight growth, up 3.7 percent.
Bucking the general trend, sales of digital services – such as the sale of concert tickets or holiday bookings – also increased in the first quarter. Sales increased by a good 28 percent to 2.4 billion euros compared to the previous year.
Looking to the future, many in the industry are skeptical. Almost half of the online retailers surveyed in the latest bevh industry barometer (47.4 percent) do not believe that they will be able to achieve the sales results of the past year in 2023. Last year, gross sales of goods in e-commerce fell by 8.8 percent to 90.4 billion euros. (dpa)