Top News 14 January 2022 Online shopping: Southern Germans are biggest spenders

In 2020, people in the counties of Starnberg, Munich, the Hochtaunuskreis and the city of Munich spent the most money on online purchases, averaging about 1,000 euros. At the bottom of the scale are the independent cities of Herne and Pirmasens with an average of less than 650 euros per person. The average expenditure throughout Germany amounted to roughly 800 euros per inhabitant. This is illustrated in an analysis performed by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR). In the regional analysis, the BBSR assessed data from the Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (Consumer Research Association) for a total of 17 categories of products, such as clothing, food, DIY and furnishings, amongst others. The results of the analysis are featured in the current edition of the BBSR analyses series KOMPAKT.

The online retail purchasing power was particularly high in economically strong cities and their outskirts. However, the figures in structurally weak cities and counties are low in comparison. “In places where people earn a higher income, they also spend more money on online shopping,” says Andrea Jonas, the author of the study. “The contrasts between structurally strong and structurally weak areas are striking."

Regional differences also emerge in terms of the variety of goods. Inhabitants spent an average of approximately 100 euros each on online purchases of clothing. The counties with the highest figures included Munich, Starnberg and the Hochtaunuskreis. The lowest figures were recorded in the independent cities of Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens and Herne.

On the other hand, people in the independent cities spent more than average on food products on the internet. The relevant online purchasing power in the city of Munich is the highest throughout Germany at about 60 euros per inhabitant, followed by the cities of Frankfurt am Main, Regensburg, Berlin and Hamburg at around 50 euros per inhabitant.

Online consumption in the DIY range of products is distributed regionally slightly differently than in the other product categories: People from rural areas tend to have a higher online purchasing power, particularly in Bavaria and in several eastern German regions.

Interested persons can view the evaluation “Spatial Examples of Online Trade in Germany” (in German) here:

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Source: BBSR