Worldwide is always buy more on the Internet. Of a few large corporations benefit. The question is: in the future, everything in Cyberspace or will it remain a business that one can enter physically.
Most people are very convenient – why so heavy shopping bags to lug home, where you can leave it at the parcel service to do? Why trudge from business to business, pilgrims, if prices and products easily online compare? In short, why their homes to leave, if you can do the purchase via the click of a mouse? This also applies to Germany.
More than three-quarters of Germans surf the Internet, buy. The are about 50 million Online buyers. Ordered almost everything from clothing, furniture, household goods, entrance accommodation cards up to leave. Not-so-good products in the field of electronics and food, run by the Federal Statistical office recently announced.
A trend reversal is not in sight. The Online trade is growing, albeit not quite so rapidly. Last year, he’s in Germany reached a volume of almost 49 billion Euro, it is the trade Association of Germany. This year he will grow a further ten percent, according to the forecast.
Place deer such as Amazon dominate the business
Of the business in the virtual space, not all benefit equally. In many countries of the world, three major players dominate the Online trading. The two American giants of Amazon and eBay, as well as the Chinese trading platform Alibaba. In the process, Amazon has clearly the nose in front.
Also in Germany, the Internet giant Amazon is able to offer the very front: as a dealer and as a trading platform, on the other their products. Nine out of ten German order, has determined the consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in a survey of 2017. Similarly, Amazon has set the market in Japan, the USA and the UK. In the Rest of the world, the group is not quite so successful: The global average of the proportion of Amazon users among the Online shoppers, with 56 per cent, much lower.
“The large Online providers to build their market power continuously and can secure an ever-bigger piece of the pie – at the expense of the stationary trade,” says Thomas Harms, trade expert of the consulting firm Ernst&Young (EY). The show is also in the lucrative Christmas business. Here, the stationary trade this year had to adjust to a slightly declining business, Harms. The survey from EY shows a good every fifth German buys now his Christmas presents prefer to online. A year ago, the share of E-Commerce-user is only half as high.
Offline shops to stay alive
While the Online grows-trade, but not necessarily for the shops that offer in the real world. According to PwC, almost 60 percent of German whip out at least once per week in the stationary trade your wallet. More than three years ago, where only 46 percent found their way to the shops.
In other European countries, the classic retail is worse. The European average was only 43 percent buy. This is the result of the “Global Consumer Insights Survey in 2018,” PwC over 22,000 consumers in 27 countries, respondents.
Of course, in the meantime, some of the brick and mortar retailers discovered Cyberspace and offers its goods there as well. In addition, the manufacturer before bumping yourself to the Internet. According to data of the trade Association Germany, a quarter of the traditional retailers, has it’s own Online Shop. Around 15 per cent sell goods via Online market places such as Amazon or Ebay. Thus, the stationary Internet has grown stronger than the original Online retailer.
The transition takes place, but also Vice versa: Some of the virtual dealer take the step into the real world. Also, the Platzhirsch Amazon are now Offline shops. First Amazon-Go-shops there are in the United States.
The virtual and the real Shopping world merge
Online – Offline: in the Future, everything will merge together, it is believed at the consulting firm PwC. So there will be also shops that can be accessed in the real world. Whether purchased or not, in addition to the shopping experience, PwC decisions.
Such an experience will in the year 2025, through a variety of technologies, for example Augmented Reality (AR) applications (i.e., the computer-assisted extension of reality perception), or using a shopping robot. Personal assistance systems, and Wearables to communicate in the future directly with the systems of the merchant. Already, the Smartphone as a shopping assistant is important when shopping and the importance is expected to increase.
Online trading is bad for the environment
So nice and convenient of Online shopping is also – it also has some problems. The resulting packet flood swells more and more. In the last year alone 3,35 billion courier, Express and package consignments were sent in Germany alone, about half of which was caused by the online trade, the German Association of parcel and Express logistics. For the environment, but it is a Disaster, if each packet is individually driven by a delivery truck in front of the front door.
To get around this Problem in the handle, are also in demand of new technologies. So the Post is working on concepts of Delivery, where E-vehicles are used, and in which the paths are optimized. Also in the area of logistics, new technologies can show a way out. So Amazon has been testing package delivery by drone. And in China, a small brings to the delivery robot is already food to the customer.
But there is another Problem. After it became known that Amazon mass destroyed returned goods, has moved the handling of returns into the field of view. In Germany alone, every year sent a three-digit million number of packages on Amazon, Zalando and co. back. Not to the garbage that is caused by the many packaging. Paper, cardboard, carton, foil and Styrofoam – it’s not supposed to be anything damaged on the way to the customer. The Online Shopping Boom: A Trend with some of the shadow sides.