Following on from 2002 and 2003, Pago once again published a comprehensive study of E-commerce in Germany and Europe last year. The Pago Study 2004, entitled “The status quo in E-retailing in Germany and Europe”, was published in November 2004.

Some 16.5 million real online purchase transactions from Germany and Europe, processed through the Pago platform in 2003, were analysed. For the first time we have differentiated between different industries and segments whereby we focussed on E-retailing and telecommunication services.

• German E-retailers are still not sufficiently attractive for international shoppers.
• The credit card is becoming more popular in Germany.
• Systematic Steps to curb fraud are beginning to bear fruit.

Key facts about consumer purchasing behaviour:

• E-commerce is growing; albeit only at the same pace as in 2002.
• German online merchants have not attracted more international shoppers, compared with the previous year.
• German consumers do most of their online shopping in German shops.
• Men and women have different online shopping habits; the share of women has increased.
• Consumer behaviour in East and West Germany is converging rapidly.

Key facts about changes in consumer payment behaviour:

• German customers increasingly prefer electronic direct debiting.
• German consumers still do not like using credit card payment for online purchases.
• Customers who pay by credit card generate significantly higher shopping cart values than do those paying by direct debit.
• Women prefer paying by direct debit or on invoice.

E-retailing was analysed intensively in the Pago Study 2004. Here are some of the findings:

• Foreign shoppers use German E-retailers more than other online merchants. This is due to the lack of suitable offerings in the other industries and segments; telecommunication is largely nationally orientated.
• Women are the more active shoppers in E-retailing and generate higher shopping cart values!

Here are some of the findings we made in our analysis of credit card payment transactions:

• The credit card is the most important payment method for E-commerce internationally, and its importance is increasing. New payment methods have, particularly outside Germany, little chance to establish themselves.
• Visa is by far the global leader in credit card payments, followed by MasterCard; in Germany, however, this lead is considerably smaller. Other card brands are relatively insignificant.
• The success rate for international payment transactions has fallen slightly compared with one year previously. Significantly more transactions in German shops were aborted than a year previously.
• Happily, the chargeback rate has fallen strongly from 1.1% in 2002 to 0.81% in 2003. However, the situation has deteriorated in German shops (0.67% compared with 0.2% previously).