Nearly 80% of German consumers will buy Christmas presents online this year and their average spending could rise by 34%, according to a new survey by the German e-commerce association bevh.
Four out of five (79% vs 74% in 2014) German citizens aged over 18 expect to buy goods online or via mail-order in November or December, and about 25% of overall interactive sales this year will be generated during this period, the survey for bevh and Creditreform Boniversum found.
Germans will not buy many more presents online but these will be much more expensive. In terms of spending, German online shoppers plan to spend €616 on average on their Christmas gifts this year, up 34% from €459 a year ago. The order quantity per person will only slightly increase from 3.7 to 3.8 products.
The real spending boom will come from women buying more clothes, fashion and shoes. The average spend in this category is expected to soar by 90% to €271 per person this year from €141 in 2014. Women plan to nearly triple spending to €350 this year from €123 last year, a 185% increase. Spending by men will only go up by 2% to €168 on average.
In contrast, German men will splash out on jewellery and watches this year. Their average spend is predict to surge by 162% to €505 this year from €311 in 2014. Women, on the contrary, prefer to receive jewellery as a present rather than buy it themselves and spend only €93 on this category, down 17% on €112 last year. The overall average spending on jewellery and watches is estimated at €299 per online shopper this year, up 37% on last year.
A remarkable growth in terms of Christmas gifts to be purchased online is in the product group furniture and decoration articles, with German online shoppers willing to spend on average €284 on these articles, up 35% from €210 in 2014.
Commenting on this trend, bevh executive director Christoph Wenk-Fischer said: “In addition to a full product range in the internet, some online retailers offer their customers the possibility of a digital ‘trial living’ (with the goods). With Augmented Reality, their ‘home dreams’ can be visualised. This service for customers has great potential for retailers.”
