COLOGNE, 03 November 2010 – Online shopping is becoming ever more attractive, not least for minor goods. The recently published E-Commerce Report 2010 by Deutsche Card Services shows that the average value of online purchases has dropped back to the level registered five years ago. However, as e-commerce is continuing to grow, the decline to EUR 65.35 does not translate into drastic sales losses, but reflects instead a change in consumers’ shopping behaviour.
“Of course, the financial crisis has not left e-commerce unaffected. However, the main reason for the decline in the average shopping cart value only becomes evident when we take a closer look at the individual transaction value categories. Consumers are increasingly losing their reluctance to buy minor goods and services online,” explains Detlef Henkel, Chairman of the Management Board of Deutsche Card Services. “Everyday goods, services or music and video downloads all belong to the transaction value category of less than EUR 10 – and this category almost doubled its share in overall online shopping. This development has made a significant contribution to the change in the average transaction value and confirms the encouraging trend our Reports have pointed out for years: online shopping is becoming an everyday experience.”
The E-Commerce Report analyses purchasing and payment behaviour and non-payment risks in online trade and has been published since 2002. In contrast to other research, the study by the Deutsche Bank subsidiary is based on real-life purchases and not on surveys. It starts from about 24 million transactions settled via the Deutsche Card Services platform. All data are fully anonymised and comply with all data-protection requirements. The study is available for download from the online shop of Deutsche Card Services.