According to a recent Bitkom survey, online shoppers say that the greatest benefit of online shopping is convenience: being able to shop at any time (72%), from anywhere (60%), and getting goods delivered to home or a selected address (72%). The wide offer (67%) and time-saving (65%) are also important to shoppers.

By contrast, just over half (53%) cite getting products cheaper as a main benefit.

 “Online shopping is primarily a matter of comfort and convenience for customers. Retailers should therefore consider whether they could create additional demand with a web shop — and hold on to existing customers,” says Bianka Kokott, trading expert at Bitkom. “For half of the online shoppers, the price plays only a subordinate role. So selling online does not necessarily mean tough price competition.”

Overall, 44% of shoppers appreciate getting access to products that might otherwise be unavailable to them locally. This is even more important in country towns or rural communities with fewer than 5000 residents.

41% of shoppers say that they can get more information online, including price and product comparisons, and customer reviews. One third (33%) cite the multitude of discounts available online.

The right to return products (24%) as well as being able to reduce contact with other people (24%) are also cited as reasons for shopping online – the latter no doubt influenced by Covid-19. Anonymity of online shopping attracts 14% of those surveyed, while 13% appreciate the broad range of additional services such as gift packaging or insurance.