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Germany

German Payment Market Overview

Germany is one of Europe’s e-commerce big-hitters: with business to consumer e-commerce sales of €80 billion, ranking the country third behind the UK and France. That said, growth rates have slowed from double to single-digit rates in recent years, a trend we expect to see continue. This growth deceleration is echoed in other mature European e-commerce markets including France and the UK.

In terms of market dynamics, both male and female shoppers alike are embracing online shopping, with a 13.4 percent and an 8.5 percent increase in sales, respectively, for these populations in the past year. One opportunity is in homewares and appliances. With a 26.5 percent increase, this category was the fastest-growing German online shopping category last year, followed by groceries (21.3 percent) and consumer electronics (20.9 percent).

Payment Methods in Germany

Key Market Indicators in Germany

€80,000,000,000
Online shopping market value
40%
Pay with direct debit
100M
Debit cards in circulation
€1,149
Avg annual online spend

Banks in Germany

Deutsche Bank
Commerzbank
KFW Bankgruppe
DZ Bank
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg

Mobile Carriers in Germany

Deutsche Telekom
T-Mobile
O2

Integrate German Payment Methods

Card penetration in Germany is low, at 0.52 per capita, and card payments are thwarted by the fact that, while cards can be used online, one of the major domestic brands is largely not enabled for internet use in Germany. Girocard is the major debit card system, with 100 million cards in circulation that do not work online. As a result, cards only account for 13 percent of the payments market.

Instead, Germany’s conservative approach to online spending is coupled with a preference for using traditional, bank-based payment methods for purchasing. Open invoice and direct debit payments account for 40 percent of online sales – a drop of just one percent on the previous year, and involves consumers paying for goods via bank transfer after they have received them.

Country Statistics
Region Europe
Population 85 million
E-commerce market size €80 billion
Local currency EUR
Key Metrics
Internet penetration rate 86%
Internet cost €30/month
Mobile penetration rate 79%
Cellular technology standard 3G, 4G
Dual sim usage 14%
Popular mobile OS iOS
Other Information
Big Mac Index 4.64
Average annual income €46,560
Largest Cities in Germany by Population
Berlin 3,520,031
Hamburg 1,787,408
Munich (München) 1,450,381
Cologne (Köln) 1,060,582
Frankfurt am Main 732,688
Stuttgart 623,738
Düsseldorf 612,178
Dortmund 586,181

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