Germany – preferred payment methods

Germany

General Information

Population 83.8m
Population 15 + 71.7m
Online Population 78.8m
Area 357,386 km²
Currency EUR
GDP 3,803.0bn USD
GDP per Capita 45,733 USD

Card-based payments
Cash-based payments
Bank transfer
Wallets
Other

[{"label":"Card-based payments","value":"10"},{"label":"Cash-based payments","value":"4"},{"label":"Bank transfer","value":"55"},{"label":"Wallets","value":"25"},{"label":"Other","value":"6"}]

Banked population

Germany 99%
Western & Central Europe 94%
World 67%

Credit card penetration

Germany 53%
Western & Central Europe 46%
World 19%

Internet penetration

Germany 94%
Western & Central Europe 91%
World 62%

Smartphone penetration

Germany 83%
Western & Central Europe 75%
World 70%

Germans expect their shopping to arrive fast, with 10% expecting same day delivery. And Germans are fond of Buy now, pay later schemes which means that they are not too worried about returning goods – 32% of clothes are sent back.

A growing number of Germans are using live shopping to make their purchases. According to a survey carried out in 2021, 51% of Germans would buy during a live shopping event compared to the European average of 38%.

Germany’s economy dropped by 4.9% in 2020 but is forecast to grow by 3.6% in 2021 and 3.4% in 2022 according to the IMF. Inflation also rose in 2020 by 0.4% and is expected to rise by 2.2% in 2021 and by 1.1% in 2022.

Future e-commerce trends (2021-2025)

E-Commerce market size forecast ($US billion)

2021 123.0

2022 135.6

2023 148.6

2024 161.4

2025 173.5

E-Commerce spending per capita ($US)

2021 1474

2022 1623

2023 1777

2024 1929

2025 2073

E-Commerce spending as % of GDP

2021 2.9

2022 3.0

2023 3.2

2024 3.4

2025 3.5

Germany

The E-Commerce Market

Top e-commerce segments 2019 | 2020

Airlines & Hotels: 35% | 26%
Electrical Goods: 17% | 19%
Health & Beauty: 16% | 18%
Toys, DIY, & Hobbies: 13% | 15%
Homeware & Furniture: 9% | 10%

Cross-border e-commerce

Cross-border proportion of total e-commerce – 14%
Value of cross-border e-commerce ($US billion) – 16.0
% of online shoppers who have shopped cross-border – 37%

Top 3 cross-border shopping origin markets

China: 43%
UK: 13%
USA: 13%

E-commerce % of total retail

Germany 11%
Western & Central Europe 17.6%
World 20%

E-commerce completed on a mobile device

Germany 38%
Western & Central Europe 43%
World 53%

The Credit Card Split

Visa
Mastercard
American Express

[{"label":"Visa","value":"56"},{"label":"Mastercard","value":"40"},{"label":"American Express","value":"4"}]

E-commerce market size ($US billion) 113.1bn USD
E-Commerce spending per capita ($US) 1,358 USD
E-commerce spending as % of GDP 2.8%

_{The information on our Insights pages has been compiled by us in cooperation with Datamatics and Wright & Brown. The data shown is partially owned by us and partially owned by GlobalData. © 2021 by PPRO Financial Ltd. No data and information can be used for any further publication without the explicit approval of PPRO.}

Germany

Local Payment Methods

BitPay

Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 giropay

Type Bank transfer Regions Western & Central Europe Market relevance High Hyperwallet

Type Bank transfer, Gift card, Prepaid voucher Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High PayPal

Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High PaysafeCard

Type Prepaid voucher Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Paysera Wallet

Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Satispay

Type Wallet Regions Western & Central Europe Market relevance Medium SEPA Direct Debit

Type Bank transfer Regions Eastern Europe & the CIS, Western & Central Europe Market relevance High Skrill

Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Trustly