E-Commerce Continues Moderate Growth in Q3 2025 Despite Weak Consumer Environment

Despite persistently weak consumer sentiment, consumers spent 2.8 percent more on goods via e-commerce between July and September compared to the same period last year. Total orders in the third quarter reached a value of EUR 17.96 billion (Q3 2024: EUR 17.475 billion). "While growth has slowed by one percentage point compared to the second quarter, this is a robust result given the declining propensity to purchase," said Martin Gross-Albenhausen, Deputy Secretary General of the German E-Commerce and Distance Selling Association (bevh).

Online purchases of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) continue to rise sharply

Daily necessities recorded the largest growth, increasing by 8.1 percent to EUR 2.196 billion. Drugstore and perfumeryassortments saw the strongest increase at 11.1 percent. The purchase of medication via the internet is also growing steadily. In the third quarter, sales in this product group rose by 8.6 percent to EUR 474 million. "E-commerce is growing especially in categories where there is still a high density of stationary sales points. This shows that consumers view online retail as an equivalent supplier for all products they regularly need for their livelihood," Groß-Albenhausen stated. "Prohibitions for certain categories, such as those recently proposed again for prescription drugs, completely ignore this reality."

In contrast, sales of computers, software, games, and PC accessories showed the weakest performance, declining by 7.7 percent. The "Entertainment" product cluster, which includes such items as well as books, media, consumer electronics, and telecommunications equipment, saw a slight decline of -0.3 percent compared to Q3 2024, reaching EUR 5.023 billion.

Asian Suppliers achieve nearly 5 Percent market share

An analysis of the providers' origins shows that companies from the Asian market were able to increase their sales by seven percent, more than double the growth of the overall market. Over the course of nine months, they increased their volume by about a quarter. In the third quarter, they reached a new peak with a 4.9 percent share of the total e-commerce volume. "This is an indicator of the consumers' ongoing propensity to save, which we also recognize in the significant increase in orders for used goods online," Groß-Albenhausen continued. So-called re-commerce offerings grew by 27.6 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, and by 28.9 percent since the beginning of the year.

The strong growth of Asian platforms is also noticeable in the success of the various e-commerce business models. Germans purchased goods for a total of EUR 9.785 billion on online marketplaces. This represents a growth of 4.8 percent compared to Q3 2024 and means a market share of 54.4 percent for this type of retailer. In contrast, independent online retailers (pure players) experienced slight sales declines.

Germans spent significantly more on digitally marketed services during the summer months. The online sale of tickets, travel, and other experiences increased by 8.1 percent to EUR 3.621 billion.

Revenue Development in E-Commerce for Goods by Segment 
(All figures in millions of Euros, including VAT)
 

Revenue Development for Goods by Retailer Type 
(All figures in millions of Euros, including VAT)

(MCV: Multichannel-Retailers, IPP: Internet- Pure-Player, APV: Online-Pharmacies, SHC: Shoppingclub, OMP: Online-Marketplaces, HEV: Brand Manufacturer/D2C, TVS: Teleshopping)