E-Commerce

E-Commerce is on the Up-Swing

Purchasing products over the internet is gaining momentum. Clothing, textiles, and shoes have become the most purchased articles on the internet. Sales of these items have increased 40% compared to last year and are in the top spot with approximately 3.9 billion Euros. Many new opportunities present themselves, especially to those specialized in young fashion!

Online Sellers Predict Continuing Strong Levels of Growth

German catalogue sellers predict further increases in revenue this year due to online orders. The German Federal Association of German Trade in Frankfurt forecasts online sales to grow approximately 9%, adding 12 billion Euros.

"Clients like to browse through catalogues and then place their order online," says association president Thomas Steinmark. In addition, more and more companies are entering the distance selling market. This market achieved total sales of 27.6 billion Euros in 2007. The internet accounted for approximately 40% of this amount (dpa).

Interesting Facts

Developments show that the World Wide Web is becoming more and more popular as a medium for individuals to make purchases. 25–44 year olds make up the largest group, and even almost one-third (32%) of all those aged 65 or above has used the internet to make purchases.

Unterscheidet When one examines the demographics based on gender, the amount of men making online purchases is slightly higher than the amount of women, with 54% compared to 49%. Women predominantly purchase clothing or sports articles (57%), men on the other hand usually purchase computer or electronic goods.

In the period within which the study was conducted, more than half of those surveyed (53%) indicated purchasing books, magazines, and newspapers via online shops. Clothing and sports articles stand in second place (49%), followed by private consumer goods such as furniture or toys (48%), then trips (41%), and movies and music with 37%.

But the study shows even more: 37% of the 14 to 29 year olds who order products over the internet do so because they find products online that they either don't find at all or are seldom sold in local brick and mortar stores. In second place stand aspects such as information and convenience. One can easily use the internet to find detailed information about individual products and then have the articles delivered directly to their door. Interestingly, price actually plays a lesser role.

Social Networking Boom

Since its inception, nine million Germans have been bitten by the social networking bug. A current Forsa study done on behalf of BITKOM shows that 12% of all citizens 14 years of age and older are members of online communities. This represents a growth of 20% compared to last year.

The popularity of online communities has even surpassed that of personal homepages and weblogs.

"Popular platforms are those that represent online versions of real social connections, such as job or friendship networks. However communities for specific interest groups such as live-commerce online portals for online shoppers are also popular," indicated BITKOM.

Online communication with like-minded people is seen by many people as enriching to their lives, according to a concluding statement by the trade association.

The World Wide Web as a Source of Information

82% of young internet users use the net to inform themselves of "the newest trends." This is the result of the current edition of the "Timescout" study conducted by the Hamburg Agency T-Factory.

Conclusion: The internet is becoming more and more important!