Today, Bitkom released results from a representative survey on consumer behavior with regard to groceries and online services during the corona pandemic. The share of German consumers ordering groceries online has doubled since the outbreak of the corona pandemic and more consumers are using online services for sports tutorials, educational training or music and video streaming for the first time.
For this study, Bitkom Research, on behalf of the digital association Bitkom, interviewed a total of 1,003 people in Germany aged 16 and above in April 2020, including 843 Internet users, by telephone about their current consumption behavior regarding groceries and online services. Respondents were able to give several answers.
These are further details:
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Online grocery shopping: Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, the share of respondents who order groceries from online supermarkets such as rewe.de, bringmeister.de or Amazon Fresh has increased from seven to 19 percent.
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30 percent of respondents said that they frequently or occasionally order groceries online during the pandemic – compared to 16 percent prior.
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Only 65 percent of respondents said they would continue to shop at stationary supermarkets and 58 percent at local discount stores – compared to previously 75 and 71 percent.
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65 percent of German consumers agreed that they feel uncomfortable when entering stationary supermarkets. Another 74 percent criticized the fact that social distancing and hygiene standards were neglected at local grocery shops.
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Online services: 26 percent of Internet users said that they have watched educational videos on YouTube or Vimeo for the first time since the beginning of the corona pandemic.
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Many also participated in online sports courses (22 percent) and online seminars for private educational training (17 percent) for the first time.
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Since the outbreak of the corona crisis, every sixth respondent has registered at platforms for video streaming such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Joyn. Ten percent of respondents have taken virtual museum tours and exhibitions or streamed music concerts and theatre performances for the first time.
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Moreover, the intensity of use among already existing customers of online services increased during the pandemic. Hence, users said that they streamed more music via Spotify or Deezer (53 percent), played online games more frequently (49 percent), streamed more series and movies (37 percent), watched more educational videos (19 percent) and attended online seminars for private further education (16 percent) as well as online sports courses (15 percent).
Bernhard Rohleder, Bitkom CEO, noted: "Consumer behavior has changed significantly during the corona pandemic – also when it comes to grocery shopping. Many of those who have switched over can now experience the advantages of online shopping immediately and will get used to it in the long run. (…) The corona pandemic is causing a huge surge in digital solutions. Many people are currently experiencing online services for the first time, because offers from the analogue world are no longer available or can only be used to a limited extent. This will continue to shape user behavior in the long term."
Source: Bitkom
More informationen on online grocery shopping and online services