Survey: Online shopping as popular as at the beginning of the Corona pandemic
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According to a survey, ordering goods and services online is currently as popular as it was at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. “Around three out of ten German citizens make purchases online,” Postbank said on Friday, referring to its current digital study. In the second year of the coronavirus pandemic, 2021, the proportion rose to 38 percent, but then fell again to 35 percent in 2022 and 30 percent in 2023.
Now the slight trend towards online shopping from before the pandemic has started again: the average share of online purchases increased According to the survey, it rose by one percentage point to 31 percent, roughly at the same rate at which it had usually increased before 2020.
This can also be explained by the age structure of the average online shopper: “According to the study, younger people are significantly more open to e-commerce than older people,” explained Postbank. Among people under 40, the online share was 40 percent, while among those over 40, it was only 27 percent.
The reasons for shopping online also vary depending on the age group. The most frequently cited reason across all age groups is the convenience of home delivery. However, this is less important to younger people, who are more likely than older people to cite the immediate availability of goods or services or the possibility of shopping on the go using an app as important reasons. For the older generation, cheaper prices are more important than for the younger generation.
According to Postbank, people under 40 also said more often that ecological aspects are important to them. Only seven percent of them said they did not pay any attention to them at all, while among those over 40, the figure was 17 percent. 24 percent of younger people also seem to have a guilty conscience and try to limit or avoid online purchases. Only eight percent of those over 40 made this statement.
Overall, the vast majority of consumers are against the destruction of returned goods. 82 percent said that this common practice should be banned by mail order companies. Packaging waste is also a concern for online shoppers: 77 percent said they prefer providers who use as little and as sustainable packaging materials as possible.
Postbank has been publishing its digital study annually since 2015. This year, 3,171 people were surveyed in April.
AFP
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