Internet facts: developing e-commerce nation Germany – as if!

Twice a year, the association for online research (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Online Forschung – AGOF) collects their “internet facts.” If you take a close look at these, you can find some statistics which just don’t fit into the generally negativity surrounding German internet promotional projects like “Neuland” and “Industrie 4.0” etc.

Admittedly, some things won’t change in the next few years: women still use the internet much less than men. The gab widens in the older age groups – 56.1 percent vs. 43.9 percent with those over 60. Germans  still mainly go online to use search engines (86.7 percent) and to read emails (86.4 percent).

But who would have thought that shopping is in third place in the list of the most popular online activities! 73 percent of all internet users over the age of 14 said that they order online. 57.8 percent use online banking.

E-marketers estimate that 81.8 percent of German internet users will order products and services via the internet. That equates to 47.1 million people. Only the UK tops this ratio of online shoppers to residents.

This makes e-commerce more normal in Germany than in any other European country (except the island) and a third of it happens via mobile!