Shopware survey reveals current developments – eCommerce Magazin

For its annual survey, Shopware asked 150 retailers and agencies from various industries about current e-commerce trends: From construction, gardening and home improvement (15 percent) to food and accessories (23 percent) to clothing and accessories (ten percent) and Gifts and merchandising (eight percent). A good third of the respondents not only run an online shop, but also a stationary shop, so they follow the Omnichannel approach. In addition to the range-related industries, the target groups were also of great relevance. It turned out that the majority of respondents (66 percent) work in both the B2B and B2C segments. 30 percent of the respondents specialize in B2C and four percent in B2B.

E-commerce trends: sales increase by a third

A little more than half of the respondents achieved a turnover that met their expectations. Pleasing: 28 percent even recorded higher sales than expected. This could be related to the corona pandemic Boost of e-commerce related. However, individual responses showed that this turns out to be quite different. There are also dealers who are struggling with negative effects, for example because they purchase products from the Far East or, in the B2B segment, supply companies from industries that stand still during a lockdown.

PayPal is the most popular payment method

Until now, “prepayment” has always been the number one payment method offered in the retailer surveys. PayPal With 85 percent, prepayment (84 percent) took first place for the first time. Klarna’s payment method made it into the top 5 of the payment methods offered for the first time compared to the previous year.

Mobile and social media commerce are gaining in importance

According to the survey by, around every third retailer sells Shopware his products not only in the online shop but also in stationary shops. Popular sales channels are also Amazon (26 percent) and eBay (20 percent). In contrast, 33 percent of those surveyed are pure players who concentrate exclusively on the sales channel via their online shop. Also noticeable with the e-commerce trends: the sale over Social media channels is becoming more and more important. Here, Facebook stand out with 27 percent, Instagram with 23 percent and Pinterest with twelve percent. In line with this, most retailers make 20 to 30 percent of purchases on mobile devices.

E-commerce trends: 7 major challenges

Legal problems and competitive pressure from other online shops remain at the forefront of the greatest challenges. Also the Displacement through marketplaces and sustainability still play an important role in e-commerce trends. The naming of problems in connection with Corona in sixth place is new. Here are the seven biggest challenges for online trading:

1. Legal problems (44 percent)
2. Competitive pressure from other shops (43 percent)
3. Displacement by marketplaces (40 percent)
4. Sustainability, for example packaging waste (30 percent)
5. Emotional brand representation (28 percent)
6. Corona-related problems (21 percent)
7. Direct sales by suppliers (20 percent)

2020 was also a mixed year for e-commerce. In addition to clear winners of the pandemic, there are also retailers who have seen strong to complete sales declines. With the current e-commerce trends, the increasing acceptance of modern payment methods and comparatively new payment providers are striking. In line with this, the relevance of mobile and social media e-commerce continues to rise.

Also read: Online trade: using new trends and opportunities effectively