Amazon and Online Shopping in Germany: How Powerful the E-Commerce Giant Is
E-commerce in Germany is omnipresent. The Covid years have accelerated the entire industry by more than a decade, and the effects of the pandemic continue to change the way businesses operate and grow. Consumers also research, purchase, and pay for products differently today than they did ten years ago. However, one thing has remained the same for years: the biggest player in the industry is Amazon. For many German customers, online shopping begins on Amazon.de and often ends there as well.
Amazon Unchallenged Leader
The competition can hardly keep up with the growth of the company. A glance at the largest B2C online shops in the country clearly illustrates the dominance of the online giant in the German market. Amazon generates more revenue than the next six spots combined:
| Position | Shop | Net Revenue 2021 (in million €) |
| 1 | amazon.de | 15.680,6 |
| 2 | otto.de | 5.124,0 |
| 3 | mediamarkt.de | 2.544,0 |
| 4 | zalando.de | 2.515,0 |
| 5 | ikea.com | 1.747,0 |
| 6 | saturn.de | 1.340,0 |
| 7 | apple.com | 1.190,0 |
Third-Party Sellers as a Key Factor
However, this is not solely the success of Amazon itself. Online shopping in Germany is also shaped by third-party sellers who offer their products through a marketplace. The revenue of these third-party sellers also grew significantly – from 29% to 34%, while the revenue from amazon.de remained at 19% during the years 2019 and 2020.
Amazon is clearly one of the few companies that was able to leverage the crisis to its advantage. This is evidenced by investments in expanding storage space and logistics centers. In 2019, Amazon achieved a revenue increase of $47.63 billion compared to the previous year. Then came the major upheaval in 2020 with Covid, resulting in an increase of $105.54 billion, followed by another strong revenue growth of $83.76 billion in 2021.
For the first time, revenue slightly declined in 2022 post-pandemic. However, by 2023, Amazon was able to increase its revenue again compared to the previous year, both in Germany ($37.59 million) and worldwide ($574.79 million).
Growth in the Future – Forecasts
Every year, the German Retail Association (HDE) publishes the Online Monitor in collaboration with the Institute for Retail Research (IFH) in Cologne. After the significant growth during the pandemic years, Amazon and the online shopping sector in Germany recorded a slight decline in 2022 for the first time, at least when looking at the previous year. Compared to the online revenues generated before the coronavirus crisis, the increase is still over 42%. The industry expects growth of about three percent for 2024, driven by increasing internet usage, social commerce, and new technologies like augmented reality, which continue to align the online experience with the offline experience.
Third-Party Sellers Look Positively Toward the Future
According to the The State of the Amazon Seller Report, most Amazon sellers are also optimistic about the future in 2024. 58% of all companies are profitable within a year of starting on Amazon, and more than half (54%) of brands and retailers have profit margins of over 20%.
Nevertheless, there are certainly problems that need to be overcome. For smaller Amazon sellers, the main challenges are:
Enterprise companies and manufacturers are concerned about …
What is common to both groups is that they are struggling with rising costs, particularly in the areas of advertising (38% of respondents), shipping (37%), and manufacturing (35%). However, compared to previous years, fewer sellers are fearing issues with rising costs.
This aligns with the fact that most sellers no longer sell exclusively on Amazon. The online shopping sector in Germany has now become more professional. Most online retailers have recognized that an omnichannel strategy with at least one additional sales channel can reduce economic risk and even increase profit. The three most popular platforms worldwide are eBay, Shopify, and Walmart, followed by Etsy.
Many Amazon sellers also have expansion plans for 2024. At the top of the list are Walmart, Shopify, and eBay. However, some sellers also want to implement social commerce with TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.
Amazon = Online Shopping in Germany: Buyers Often Prefer the Marketplace
Various statistics on the success of Amazon clearly show that the e-commerce giant not only generates higher revenues in Germany but also experiences steady customer growth compared to its competitors. A survey by IFH Cologne from 2021 indicates that those who shop online also buy from Amazon. According to the market research company …
However, it is not only the survey by IFH Cologne that confirms the assumption that e-commerce in Germany is shaped by the online giant. A 2022 survey by Pattern shows that of 1,000 online shoppers from Germany, 96% reported having made a purchase on Amazon at least once in 2021. Amazon customers prefer the German marketplace but are also not hesitant to shop on amazon.com or amazon.co.uk.
The survey also showed that…
These figures also demonstrate that Amazon has perfected the art of dominating online shopping in Germany. Most customers apparently find the marketplace so appealing that they shift their shopping behavior there. The reasons from the customers’ perspective for purchasing on the online platform range from price to fast delivery:
Prime is a Growth Driver
Amazon’s subscription model appears to play a particularly significant role in using the marketplace. Prime includes, among other things, exceptionally fast delivery and access to Amazon’s own streaming service. In 2021, Jeff Bezos announced in a letter to shareholders that Amazon Prime has 200 million customers worldwide. Just three years earlier, the Amazon service had surpassed the 100 million subscriber mark.
According to the Germany Shopper Report, 15% more online shoppers had access to Amazon Prime. This means that 78% either have their own Prime subscription or can use that of family, partners, or friends. Combined with the insight that fast delivery is a key factor in why customers order from Amazon, a clear picture emerges: The increasing number of Prime members is an indicator of the rising revenue of the e-commerce giant in the coming years.
Amazon: A Crucial Marketplace for Online Shopping in Germany
Amazon now has millions of third-party sellers offering their goods on the marketplace. Since 2026, this segment has become increasingly important: over 60% of the units sold now come from third-party sellers. Given that the increase has been steady and has occurred at a similar pace over the years, it can be assumed that Amazon is consciously controlling this development. However, the retail share of Amazon itself is unlikely to ever reduce to zero percent.
Conclusion
Is Amazon still indispensable in online shopping in Germany? Developments in e-commerce clearly show that anyone wanting to sell online can hardly bypass Amazon. The Prime program has a significant influence in this regard, as Prime members are heavy shoppers and spend the most money on Amazon. At the same time, they primarily rely on Prime offers because they receive free and fast delivery with them.
Online sellers can hardly avoid selling on Amazon. Nevertheless, diversifying their sales channels is an important point, which is why having their own online shop or additional marketplaces like Etsy can make a lot of sense. Which channels specifically fit into their own omnichannel strategy is very individual and should be well thought out.
Image credit: © Anna Khomulo – stock.adobe.com
