• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Germans Love Shopping Online. They Love Returning Goods Even More.

Germans Love Shopping Online. They Love Returning Goods Even More.

Germans Love Shopping Online. They Love Returning Goods Even More.
August 12, 2019
Bloomberg

Germans were slow to embrace online shopping, but they lead the pack sending back unwanted goods. No other European country returns more packages than Germany, creating a massive financial and logistical problem for retailers including Zalando SE and Amazon.com Inc.

Online fashion retailer Zalando is trying to cut down on returns — about half its sales are sent back — by posting videos of models wearing the apparel and using machine learning technology to match shoppers with the right sizes. Mr. Spex, a German spectacle retailer backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., lets customers "virtually" try on glasses, placing frames over clients’ headshots as they browse its website. And Amazon has introduced augmented reality tools so that shoppers can see how a piece of furniture looks in their home before they decide to click the "buy now" button.

Creating a more efficient return system is becoming increasingly important as retailers vying for customers try to keep expenses in check. Germans returned about 5.5bn euros worth of goods last year, a study by the University of Bamberg found. 

Deutsche Post AG, the German postal service, agrees that more needs to be done. 

“At the moment, in terms of volumes, we're benefiting from this trend as we carry a lot of return shipments,’’ said Deutsche Post Chief Financial Officer Melanie Kreis. “We have to find more sustainable solutions to optimise the whole returns process.”

The situation in Germany, where the 10 biggest online shops account for about a third of all web sales, is particularly pronounced. Buying clothing online is popular in Europe’s largest economy, but it’s also the category that gets returned the most because many shoppers buy more than they need to try on different garments in the comfort of their own home. 

Germany also has Europe’s highest rate of invoice transactions — meaning they only pay once the goods have arrived and they’ve decided what to keep. That makes it easier to abort a purchase and return the product before any money changes hands.

Companies are being forced to get creative in order to keep costs down. Amazon has threatened to charge German vendors more from October if they refuse to streamline packaging in a bid to cut waste and shipping costs. Zalando has invested in Magazino, a Munich-based robotics startup to make warehouse sorting more efficient. 

Down the road, retailers will have to come up with new ways to take the pain out of returns — like offering shoppers the option of returning items in actual stores, said Lars Hofacker, an analyst at EHI Retail Institute in Cologne.

“That’s more convenient for customers and it gives the retailer an opportunity to talk to them in person, improving retention,” he said.

Sometimes, returns can even turn into a marketing asset. Nok, a Berlin startup, works with retailers to let shoppers trial select tech gadgets — for example a Krups kitchen machine — at home for 3 to 7 days after a same-day delivery in the German capital. If they don’t like it, Nok picks it up again, free of charge. Even when a product isn’t kept, shoppers will link the product with a smooth delivery and return process, said Bobby Wann, Nok’s managing director.

“You don’t always have to buy something to like a brand,” he said.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Logistics Reverse Logistics All Warehouse Services Order Fulfillment E-Commerce/Omni-Channel Retail Europe
KEYWORDS E-Commerce/Omni-Channel Europe order fulfillment Retail Reverse Logistics
  • Related Articles

    Americans Love Shopping Online, but They Want to Return Things in Person

    Consumers Love Free Shipping, Demand More Flexibility When Shopping Online

Bloomberg

Supply Chain Managers Are Quitting in Unprecedented Numbers

More from this author

Wake up to live
“Supply Chains in Crisis”
updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • Medical drone

    Amazon May Be Proof That Delivery Drones Aren’t Practical

    Last Mile Delivery
  • digital work

    Supply Chain Managers Are Quitting in Unprecedented Numbers

    Coronavirus
  • North Jakarta, Indonesia

    Physical, Financial Visibility: A Dual Approach to Supply Chain Resilience

    Supply Chain Planning & Optimization
  • Heat Wave Triggers Blackouts

    Vast Swath of U.S. at Risk of Summer Blackouts, Regulator Warns

    Supply Chain Security & Risk Mgmt
  • Worker using tablet

    Podcast | Stitching Together the Physical and Digital Supply Chain

    Technology

Digital Edition

Scb may 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain ESG Guide

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • 3PL Doubles Productivity With Robots to Fulfill Medical Supply Orders

  • E-Commerce Company Cuts Order Fulfillment Time by 40%

  • Fashion Retailer Halves Fulfillment Time With Omichannel Automation

  • Distributor Scales Business by Integrating Warehouse Automaton Software

  • Fast-Growing Fashion Brand Scales E-Commerce Fulfillment With Whiplash

Visit Our Sponsors

Yang Ming Alithya Barcoding
Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics Generix
GEP GIB USA GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated Inmar
Keelvar Kinaxis Korber
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Lucas Systems
Nvidia Old Dominion Parsyl
Redwood Logistics Saddle Creek Logistics Schneider Dedicated
Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD Shipwell
Tecsys TGW Systems Thomson Reuters
Tive Trailer Bridge Vecna Robotics
Whiplash    
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2022 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing