Germany is well within the trend with regard to the electronic distribution of products (E-commerce). This is confirmed by the numbers as well as the success that German providers such as Zalando are having abroad. While in 2012 about 112 billion EUR were implemented in Europe, the prediction for 2017 is up to 191 billion EUR. According to internetworld.de about one of 6 euro’s that German companies make is made online.
The increasing use of smartphones, faster and more precise delivery times, as well as the transition from occasional online buyers to online regular customers could ensure that by 2023 every fourth euro is no longer spend in traditional stores, but in online stores. That would mean an increase of 250 percent.
With Germany leading the way, Europe has surpassed the home country of mega retailer Amazon, the United States, in terms of its growth rate and market share of online retail to the total trade. The so-called “Internet Pure Players” like Amazon or Zalando are still gaining in market shares in contrast to the webshops of mail order companies such as Otto, Bauer or Neckermann.
In Germany the companies Amazon, Otto, Notbooksbilliger, Zalando, Weltbild and Conrad electronics form the top 6 online retailers in the year 2013 as reported by Wirtschaftswoche magazine. Without a doubt, it is in Germany’s best interest to maintain a strong growth in the online sector: it creates new jobs and opportunities for investment. The industry, however, is not an island and it is gradually changing the landscape of the entire retail trade.
There is talk of empty shopping streets and malls and small stores that buckle under the overwhelming power of the online giants and have to close down. Among the victims are book retailers (Weltbild, Thalia), shoe retailers (Görtz), clothing retailers (NKD, Esprit), and electronics retailers (ProMarkt).
At least some of these smaller stores are successfully transferring their core business to the internet. Especially brands that are strong on their own, who opt not to be marketed via one of the big players, manage to run their online stores at a profitable level. Examples are the outdoor label Deuter or the sports label Adidas. They successfully withstand the pressure of the competition from retailers such as Zalando and are still amongst the top online stores in the country.
For entrepreneurs in the online sector it is often a smaller step to offer their products in collaboration with bigger retailers like Ebay or Amazon. The problem, however, is that it is harder to create an own corporate image this way and besides, the profit margin is smaller. Who really wants to make a difference is bound to take some risks and invest into a product that is innovative, appealing and stands out from the rest.
A new online store can only be successful if it maintains a good ranking in search engines. As a result, online marketing agencies are specializing in optimizing content in order to make it SEO friendly and effective in advertising. Furthermore, they help their customers with the usage of social media and show them how to employ those means in order to build a bigger network and become more known in the web.
Agencies like Textcase can help with the further optimization of online marketing texts. Not only can we help you to optimize your text, we bring your story to the other side of the world!