Who or what is driving e-commerce?

Everyday consumer goods including food, medicine and pet food, accounted for 3.4 per cent of e-commerce sales in 2024 or €9.128 billion. Shopping for the home, garden and leisure grew by 3.1 per cent respectively. Wardrobes, on the other hand, are quite full with demand for clothing remaining almost constant at +0.2 per cent. Sales of entertainment products dropped 1.1 per cent. Statistics indicate that women accounted for 56 per cent of those shopping online. Older people are more likely to shop online and the 60+ age group account for 32 per cent of shoppers compared to a mere 13 per cent of young people aged 14 to 29.

"Social and mobile commerce are increasingly important in online marketplaces, says Wenk-Fischer. Those who download a shopping app, use it. "The first purchase is usually made after three days, the second after ten days." Thus, developing apps is worthwhile. And while Chinese online platforms such as Temu, Shein and AliExpress are increasingly challenging established e-commerce retailers, TikTok commerce is gaining momentum. The Chinese video platform has a a wide reach and algorithms that promise an easy and fun shopping spree. A battle of the bots might be on the horizon. "Personal AI assistants will soon be doing my shopping. They will compete with retail bots that sell goods at the highest possible price. Of course, I don't want to pay inflated prices". So the best algorithm wins over the customer. However, the same applies to cybercriminals, unfortunately.

Companies should sound the alarm when work ends on Fridays, warns Andreas Dondera, a cybercrime expert with the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) in Hamburg. Cyber-attacks tend to occur just before the weekend, when the company's IT team are not easily reached. To prevent a cyberattack, take the computer offline as quickly as possible. However, that involves a loss of revenue especially for e-commerce providers. Thus, a clear worst-case strategy, including up-to-date data backups, paper phone lists and communication guidelines is important. "That will prevent employees posting whimsical comments along the lines of: 'No more work for today'." 

If you are unable to recover blocked data in a timely manner, paying the required amount is definitely an option, says Dondera. An external expert, who negotiates the amount and handles any bitcoin payment on the darknet, is frequently helpful. Birgit Janik, Head of Taxes, Finance & Controlling at bevh, has a message for those who think 'it won't happen to me': "Around 94 per cent of online shops in Germany are hit by fraud. Such high crime rates should lead to more preventive measures." Dondera agrees and points out: "The LKA offers companies free cyber exercises. After all, we are the police.

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