Based on research by Handelsverbandes Deutschland, almost two out of three retailers in Germany do not sell their products online. While sales are expected to increase by 2% in the retail market compared to 2018, there are concerns about the growth of the online market.
Online trade currently is one of the growth drivers of the German retail market. The conducted survey by the German Retail Trade Association (HDE) among 850 companies of all sizes, locations and distribution channels shows that it is many medium-sized retailers that are struggling with the challenges of digitalisation.
Among these retailers, it is mostly grocers, clothing stores and specialists such as jewellers that do not sell online. E-commerce accounts for almost half of the absolute annual growth in German retail. CEO Stefan Genth says that "Customers expect to find the retailer in the pedestrian zone and online." He continues that "Those who are not represented online today, no longer exist for many customers."
The survey shows that in Germany, 65% of retailers do not use any online sales channels. 26% of the sellers that do use an e-commerce sales channel, sell online through their own shop. 16% uses an online marketplace such as Amazon or eBay. Many traders are deterred by complex data protection requirements. Regulations on a national level turn out to be ineffective in global online trade. Therefore, the HDE calls for action at European level.
Genth suggests that the newly formed European Commission should design the [data protection] regulations in a practical way rather than complicating them further. "Digitisation will enable more competition in the European internal market." Harmonisation of regulations and obligations for both companies based in the European Union, as well as companies based outside the EU but operating in the EU as companies from European member states, is a necessity. At present, this is not yet the case in the field of consumer data and product safety.
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