International e-commerce shops increasingly attractive for German customers
New E-Commerce Report 2009 published by Deutsche Card Services contains trends in E-Commerce Purchasing and Payment Behaviour
(firmenpresse) - Cologne, 15 October 2009 – German online shoppers are increasingly going abroad. British e-commerce shops are particularly attractive for German customers, who are making one out of ten purchases in the UK.
One year before, the ratio was less than one out of twenty. This is one of the results of the E-Commerce Report 2009, which was recently published by Deutsche Card Services. In contrast to other research, the study of the Deutsche Bank subsidiary on “Trends in E-Commerce Purchasing and Payment Behaviour” is based on real-life transactions, not on surveys. The database consists of roughly 30 million purchase transactions processed via the platform of Deutsche Card Services between October 2007 and September 2008. The purchases were made in all e-commerce-relevant sectors such as retail, services or travel & entertainment.
Seasonal patterns of e-commerce and traditional retailing become more similar
While European e-commerce showed considerable seasonal particularities in the past few years, it is slowly becoming more similar to traditional retailing, with a strong year-end business and a classical “summer break”. By now, more than 30% of all online transactions take place in the fourth quarter (October – December), but only 20% in the third (July – September). This trend is particularly visible in German shops. In the UK, purchases are spread more evenly across the year. Quite in contrast to the European trend, British consumers shop most in July, i.e. in summer.
Weekends become less attractive in e-commerce
In the preceding year, consumers bought most on Tuesdays and Fridays in European e-commerce. Now, the differences between the weekdays are shrinking. Each day has a share of 14.48% - 15.02% in the total. This trend was already visible in the past few years. As a result, the importance of the weekend has slightly declined. For all European consumers, the shares of Saturdays and Sundays in overall purchasing activity have declined by 0.41% each. The downtrend is even stronger among German consumers, with the share of the weekend falling by more than 2pp to below 9%. While European customers as a whole shop most on Tuesdays, German customers prefer Mondays for their online purchases.
Upcoming end of the working day makes e-commerce customers more enthusiastic
Traditional working hours between 8am and 6pm are still customers’preferred shopping time. German consumers do roughly 54.84% of their online shopping during these hours. Among the British, the percentage is even 0.01pp higher. The time between 4pm and 6pm is the most attractive: During these two hours, one out of five purchases is made; for German customers the ratio is almost one out of four. It seems that European online consumers are rewarding themselves with online purchases when the end of the working day approaches. Only the British are different: They do much more of their online shopping in the morning than, for example, the Germans. Moreover, their purchasing activity peaks two hours later than the average and in the rest of Europe, i.e. between 6pm and 8pm. Overall, European consumers’ online purchasing activities seem to shift gradually towards the evening.
Higher average transaction values
Europeans are spending more on e-commerce purchases than in the preceding year. The average transaction value in the sample period rose by EUR 4.18, to EUR 84.31. However, this did not entail more online purchases of luxury goods worth more than EUR 500. In fact, the share of these goods even declined. The average transaction value is a good reflection of overall trends in e-commerce. In 2004/05, the average transaction value in European e-commerce was only EUR 60.73. One year later it had already risen to EUR 77.58. While it continues to increase, the rate of growth has declined. By gender and by country, German men generated the highest transaction value per purchase (EUR 112.17).
Women do more online shopping in the mornings than men
The E-Commerce Report again points out gender-specific differences in purchasing behaviour. For example, women buy more during the morning than men – and they conform to a traditional stereotype once again:
They spend more money, even though their orders rarely exceed the limit of EUR 500. The average transaction values are higher for women than for men. In fact, one out of seven transactions carried out by men is worth less than EUR 10. Purchases of German women are mostly worth an amount between EUR 10 and EUR 500, whereas those of German men are spread more evenly across all transaction value categories.
Spain catches up in European e-commerce
Spain has caught up most in European e-commerce. Behind Germany, the UK and France, the three countries with the largest e-commerce activities, Spain is now on rank four, up four places from the preceding year. Ireland, which was placed second in the year before, has dropped out of the top 3. In global e-commerce the US lead has shrunk. While one out of two transactions by non-European consumers came from the US in the preceding year, the ratio is now less than one out of three.
E-Commerce Report 2009 segues seamlessly from former issues
The E-Commerce Report 2009 segues seamlessly from the former issues published as “Pago Reports”. The study only sheds a light on purchase transactions in European shops, since only merchants domiciled in Europe use the Deutsche Card Services platform. The transactions are initiated by customers from all over the world. The E-Commerce Report 2009 distinguishes between consumers from Germany, the United Kingdom (UK), the rest of Europe and countries outside Europe. It covers both traditional payment methods such as credit cards, direct debiting and offline payment methods (e.g. COD) and ever more popular new online payment methods such as giropay and Maestro.
The E-Commerce Report 2009 is available at a price of EUR 500 (excl. VAT) from the online shop of Deutsche Card Services from now on. For more information please see www.deutsche-card-services.de.
Themen in dieser Pressemitteilung:
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
About Deutsche Card Services GmbH:
Deutsche Card Services, a part of Deutsche Bank Group, broadens the range of cash management services offered by the Group’s Global Transaction Banking (“GTB”) department. The newly established company offers international one-stop full-service solutions for non-cash card payment transactions, including credit cards, Maestro, direct debiting and giropay. In doing so Deutsche Card Services relies on the proven experience and the well-established technical platform of Pago eTransaction Services. Proven risk minimization systems ensure that non-cash payment in e-commerce, in mail-order retailing and at the point of sale is easy, quick and secure. Unique online steering systems enable customers world-wide to monitor all of their transactions at any time.
www.deutsche-card-services.com
Deutsche Card Services GmbH
Kaltenbornweg 1-3
50679 Cologne
Phone: +49 221 99577-0
Telefax: +49 221 99577-8728
pr.deucs(at)db.com
Deutsche Card Services GmbH
Tobias F. Hauptvogel
Head of Marketing & Communications
Kaltenbornweg 1-3
50679 Cologne
Phone: +49 221 99577-728
Telefax: +49 221 99577-8728
pr.deucs(at)db.com
www.deutsche-card-services.com
Datum: 15.10.2009 - 15:18 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 6918
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contact information:
Contact person: Tobias F. Hauptvogel
Town:
Cologne
Phone: +49 (0) 221 99577-728
Kategorie:
Financial Services & Insurance
Typ of Press Release: Erfolgsprojekt
type of sending: Veröffentlichung
Date of sending: 15.10.2009
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Please note: Media professionals can obtain the E-Commerce Report 2009 for free on request. Please get in touch with the contact set out below if you want to use the report for your work.
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