Asian platforms in Germany lose market share as customs duties bite
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Editorial TeamPublished on
Sales of Asian platforms in Germany fell by more than a third in Q3 after the duty-free limit ended, yet local retailers aren’t benefiting. Find out which categories are still growing, which are slumping, and what the latest bevh figures reveal about online retail.
Asian platforms in Germany are losing ground. According to the consumer survey of the German E-Commerce and Distance Selling Trade Association (bevh), sales of the three largest Asian platforms fell by 35.5 percent in the third quarter of 2026. This follows the abolition of the €150 duty-free threshold for shipments from non-EU countries in July. Overall online sales of goods grew by just 2.9 percent to around €18.5 billion, below the September inflation rate of 3.3 percent.
Why German e-commerce is slowing down
The renewed decline in consumer sentiment is weighing on online retail.
Quote / Alien Mulyk, CEO of bevhAfter signs of recovery in the first half of the year, sharply rising energy prices and declining income expectations are now impacting online purchasing behavior.
A second factor is the drop in low-cost parcels from Asia, which no longer reach Europe as often as before. This has also pulled down overall market development. According to Mulyk, the rapid growth of the big Asian platforms in Germany has stalled. “As a result, overall market sales are declining, without local providers being able to benefit from the weakness of their Asian competitors,” he says.
Asian platforms in Germany: sales down 35.5 percent
For the first time since the duty-free threshold was abolished, bevh has reliable figures on how Asian platforms in Germany are performing. In Q3 2026, combined sales of the three largest Asian platforms in Germany fell by 35.5 percent compared with the same quarter last year, to €566 million. Their share of German e-commerce dropped to 3.1 percent, down from 5.3 percent in the second quarter.
The reason is the higher cost of small shipments from outside the EU. Since the €150 duty-free threshold was eliminated in July, every shipment from non-EU countries is subject to customs duties:
- Small shipments up to €150 are charged a flat fee of €3 per goods category (customs item).
- From November, a flat processing fee of €2 will be added.
“The higher duties are having a significant impact on low-margin, low-priced products from Asia. However, tariffs alone are not enough,” says Mulyk. To ensure fair competition, he argues, the EU must strengthen market surveillance authorities and enforce existing law. He notes that the EU has recently taken important steps, including the establishment of a common EU customs authority and the mandatory transmission of standardized product IDs.
German e-commerce by category: a two-speed market
Everyday products continue to drive online growth. The “daily needs” cluster grew by 10.0 percent to €2.4 billion, led by three segments:
- Medications: +15.4 percent to €547 million
- Drugstore items: +14.3 percent to €869 million
- Groceries: +9.1 percent to €931 million
Fashion is another bright spot, growing faster than the overall market. Online sales of clothing rose by 4.9 percent to €3.48 billion and shoes by 6.4 percent to €930 million. Household goods and appliances (+6.5 percent) and toys (+6.8 percent) also grew well above average.
In the large categories, however, many consumers postponed purchases. Electronics and telecommunications fell by 4.6 percent to €2.28 billion, and furniture, lamps and decoration by 5.2 percent to €1.06 billion. The entertainment cluster declined by 2.6 percent overall. Within it, physical media and video and music downloads dropped by 5.3 percent, and books, e-books and audiobooks by 3.6 percent. Jewelry and watches saw the steepest decline of any segment, at 5.7 percent.
Marketplaces grow fastest, pure online shops fall behind
The balance between types of retailers barely changed. Online marketplaces again grew the most, by 5.0 percent to €10.28 billion. They were followed by direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales from manufacturers, up 4.2 percent to €735 million.
Multichannel retailers achieved only moderate growth of 2.5 percent in their online channels, reaching €2.30 billion. Online retailers (internet pure players, pharmacy mail-order companies and shopping clubs) slipped by 0.8 percent to €4.95 billion. As in previous quarters, they lagged behind the overall market.
Key figures at a glance
| Segment | Q3 2025 (€ million) | Q3 2026 (€ million) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goods in e-commerce | 17,960 | 18,473 | +2.9% |
| Digital services | 3,621 | 3,798 | +4.9% |
| Goods and services in interactive commerce | 21,787 | 22,455 | +3.1% |
| Cluster: Daily needs | 2,196 | 2,415 | +10.0% |
| Cluster: Clothing | 4,188 | 4,407 | +5.2% |
| Cluster: Leisure | 2,174 | 2,263 | +4.1% |
| Cluster: Home furnishing | 3,280 | 3,331 | +1.6% |
| Cluster: Entertainment | 5,029 | 4,900 | −2.6% |
| Three largest Asian platforms (combined) | — | 566 | −35.5% |
About the study
The weekly consumer survey “Interactive Commerce in Germany” asks a total of 40,000 private individuals in Germany aged 14 and over about their spending in online and mail-order retail and their use of digital services, such as travel or ticketing. The survey runs from January to December, and final results are published at the beginning of each year. The Q3 figures cover the period from July 1 to September 30, 2026. The study is conducted by BEYONDATA GmbH.
