The digital association Bitkom published today new survey results on the shopping behavior of German consumers during the Christmas season. According to the results, 86 percent of Internet users got their Christmas gifts online, while nine percent wanted to buy their gifts exclusively on site.
For this representative survey, Bitkom Research, on behalf of the digital association Bitkom, interviewed a total of 1,003 people in Germany aged 16 years and above, including 887 Internet users, by telephone in mid-November 2021 about their shopping behavior during the Christmas season.
These are further insights:
- 86 percent of German Internet users bought their Christmas gifts on the Internet – 34 percent bought them exclusively online and another 27 percent predominantly online.
- By contrast, 20 percent of respondents said they would get their gifts exclusively (nine percent) or predominantly (eleven percent) in stores on site.
- 66 percent of the 16- to 29-year-olds bought most or all of their gifts online, compared to just 31 percent of consumers over the age of 65.
- In the context of the Corona pandemic, respondents justified their online purchases by wanting to minimize the risk of infection (71 percent), feeling queasy about entering larger stores (68 percent) or becoming accustomed to online shopping during the pandemic (48 percent).
- To protect themselves from the risk of contagion, the 50- to 64-year-olds (80 percent) and those older than 65 (79 percent) were most likely to order gifts online.
- Respondents mentioned further advantages of shopping Christmas presents online, such as the convenience of home deliveries (84 percent), avoiding crowded shopping stores (78 percent), opening hours around the clock (77 percent) and better price transparency and comparison options (63 percent).
Bernhard Rohleder, Bitkom CEO, noted: "Concerns about contagion are prompting even more people to do their Christmas shopping online in the second Corona year. But it's also about avoiding stress and time pressure during the Christmas season."
Source: Bitkom
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