Germany is the largest e-commerce market in western Europe - and the third economy in the world after only the US and Japan and ahead of China, reminds eMarketer author James Belcher in Germany Online - their latest report.
Key findings in the report are that online penetration is over 50% for every age group up to 50, Germans are predicted to spend over $108 billion in 2008, over 83% of Germans under 29 have internet access, and penetration for companies over 250 employees is 99% (that’s the same across Europe as we reported earlier in Multilingual Search) but stunningly - even small businesses in Germany have 96% access - a phenomenal figure! 39% of businesses buy online!
So the conclusion is - we’re being blinded by Chinese whispers - the real market to get active in is GERMANY.