German eCommerce market generates revenues of €84.7 billion in 2025, surpassing pandemic levels
Germany’s eCommerce market reaches €84.7 billion in 2025 as top online stores shift positions and new players like Shein and Rewe enter the top rankings. (Ad)
By Nadine Koutsou-Wehling, Data Journalist
Germany is at the forefront of European eCommerce, contributing a little over 15% to the continent’s revenues. As the second-largest European market, Germany follows the United Kingdom and is ahead of Russia.
Every year, ECDB publishes the report “E-Commerce Markt Deutschland” in collaboration with the EHI Retail Institute. This study has become the go-to industry source for eCommerce statistics in Germany. It identifies revenue trends, provides store and marketplace rankings, as well as information on key performance indicators.
Want to have a free preview? You can download the ECDB/EHI poster for a snapshot of the most significant findings on Germany’s eCommerce Market in 2025.
Now in its 17th year, here are the most notable findings of “E-Commerce Markt Deutschland 2025”.
The top 1,000 online stores in Germany generated €84.7 billion in 2025
German eCommerce reached new heights in 2025. With a value of €84.7 billion, the top 1,000 online stores in Germany surpassed Covid levels.
The period directly after the pandemic saw declines in eCommerce revenue. These declines occurred due to a process of normalization following the spikes in eCommerce revenue from 2020 to 2022.
During the pandemic, the online market matured faster than usual. This is why online shopping grew more slowly in the following years, balancing out the inordinate increases of previous years.
By 2024 and 2025, the German market had already surpassed the peaks of the pandemic. Despite a weak economic outlook, high inflation, cautious consumer spending, and outsourcing of operations to Southern and Eastern Europe, the top 1,000 online stores in Germany recovered from the temporary slowdown.
Shein and Rewe entered German top 10 online stores, shop-apotheke climbed upwards
In 2024, shein.com and rewe.de entered the top 10 by displacing hm.com and lidl.de, which ended up in lower spots among the top 20.
Since 2023, Shein has grown at a rate of 18.0%, convincing users with its wide assortment of low-priced items. Shein is one of the eCommerce upstarts of Chinese origin that are shaking up the world of eCommerce with a novel fulfillment concept. Aided by technology, these platforms cut out the middleman and keep consumer demand updated in real time.
Rewe’s growth rate is higher than Shein’s, at 33.5% from 2023 to 2024. The German supermarket chain rose to ninth place with eCommerce net sales of €920 million. Rewe attracts grocery shoppers with home delivery services and manages storage costs by operating a wide physical store network.
Another notable climber is shop-apotheke.de. The online pharmacy was already in the top 10 in 2023, but it stands out with its 29.1% growth rate in 2024. This helped it climb to eighth place in the ranking.
Lidl and H&M were displaced from the top 10 ranking
While Shein and Rewe rose in the top 10 online store ranking in Germany, Lidl and H&M fell. The competition is intense, so ranking positions must be defended with standout prices and products.
As a traditional fast-fashion company, H&M has been undercut in price and surpassed in style updates by ultra-fast fashion retailers like Shein. As a result, more shoppers in Germany turned to Shein than to other retailers.
Similarly, Lidl could not keep up with supermarkets and quick commerce providers competing on delivery speed, minimum order values, and product variety.
Amazon and Otto remain in top positions, while others are less secure
While the lower-ranking positions are characterized by uncertainty, the top spots are not at risk of losing momentum in the coming years.
Amazon remains in the top spot, which it has held for decades. In 2025, Amazon generated €15.0 billion in online net sales, marking a slower growth rate of 2.3% since 2023.
Otto is far behind, with net sales of €4.4 billion and growth of 5.0%, but it is still in a better position than the following stores. Zalando.de and mediamarkt.de remained in the same spots as in the previous year, but apple.com and ikea.com switched positions.
The race is tight in German eCommerce, with established retailers fearing that new stores may take their places in the top 10 rankings next year. Given the continuous rise of new platforms with competitive offerings, this fear is not unfounded.
eBay and Otto compete for second spot among marketplaces in Germany
The gap to the market leader is enormous. Amazon stands in a league of its own, with a GMV larger than positions two through four combined. In 2024, the Amazon Marketplace generated a GMV of €52.0 billion, growing by 4.2%.
Despite its continued dominance, Amazon took measures to secure its position by launching Amazon Haul. Amazon Haul offers products cheaper than usual by cutting out intermediaries and delivering products directly from factories.
Further shifts expected in the years to come: eBay and Otto
Otto is on a strong upward trend, with a growth rate of 9.0% since 2023 and a GMV of €7.1 billion. It may therefore surpass eBay, which is sliding downward. eBay generated €8.7 billion in GMV and experienced degrowth at a rate of -2.5%.
E-commerce market Germany: Check out the report!
German eCommerce is undergoing shifts. Some online stores and marketplaces are rising in the rankings, while others are falling behind. You can find out all this and more in the complete “E-Commerce Markt Deutschland 2025” report.
Inside, you’ll find everything from revenue growth and market trends to top retailer rankings, plus in-depth insights on B2C marketplaces, payment preferences, shipping, shop software, and more.
