Trend toward online shopping continues in Germany even after the lockdown

Even though there is an increasing easing of restrictions, bricks-and-mortar retail is reopening and the lockdown has been overcome for the time being, Germans are still increasingly shopping online. 58% of them currently store online on a regular basis - just as many as during the lockdown (58%). So why change anything? More than two thirds of German consumers (67%) are quite satisfied with their online shopping experience in recent months. Only 3% of them complain about a negative shopping experience.

Nevertheless, there is potential for improvement: 30% complain about slow or faulty product pages, 26% about checkout processes taking too long and 26% about complicated store layouts during the lockdown. Overall, the vast majority of German consumers have preferred online marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay (57%) for online shopping in recent months. Retailers' own websites (10 percent) and brands (3 percent) are lagging behind and are used much less frequently. This is the result of the current "Adobe Online Shopping Trends 2020", for which over 1000 German consumers were surveyed in July 2020.

Vacation trips are canceled: Germans beautify their homes

The most popular products that clearly dominated German online shopping during the lockdown were clothing (56%), electronics (33%) and non-prescription medicines (30%). Compared to the period before COVID-19, online purchases in the areas of food (+54%) and non-prescription medicines (+47%) in particular increased significantly during the lockdown. In the coming months, Germans are planning to buy DIY (21%) and gardening (20%) products to improve their homes. Obviously a direct consequence of the reduced desire to travel: 52% of Germans will not be traveling this summer, but will be spending their vacations at home. Those who want to travel despite the restrictions prefer to stay in Germany (29%) or drive their own car (68%). Only 23% are planning to fly this year.

"Online retail can confirm the trend of recent months and is becoming the standard of our new normality. Anyone who understands their customers' customer journey and can offer seamless interaction at every touchpoint has a clear advantage," says Christoph Kull, Vice President and Managing Director Adobe Central Europe at Adobe. "For companies, expanding their digital customer relationships and sales channels is therefore a direct investment in their own business resilience and future."

VAT reduction has hardly any sales-promoting effect

Price, time savings and distance from others are the main reasons why people continue to rely on online shopping. At the same time, consumer behavior is generally being reflected more strongly: 44% of respondents in the Adobe survey say they have become much more aware of their shopping habits since the lockdown. More than one in two (57%) would like to support German companies in particular with their online purchases or make a contribution to environmental protection. Price (54%), time savings (52%) and distance to others (50%) are the main reasons why people continue to opt for online shopping. The reduction in VAT has little influence on purchasing decisions: Due to the current price reductions, only one in ten Germans (10 percent) are buying more food and electronic items. In all other product categories, the sales-promoting effect of the VAT reduction remains in the single-digit percentage range.