Once again this year, the retail institute EHI, in collaboration with eCommerceDB, has published the top 1,000 business-to-consumer stores in Germany with the highest sales in various sectors. We are very pleased about the results of the study because Shopware is at the top of the leading store systems for the third time in a row!
Shopware further extends lead over Magento
The study by EHI and eCommerceDB revealed not only the top-selling online stores in Germany but also the most frequently used ecommerce platforms. In this ranking, Shopware has made it to first place among the most popular ecommerce platforms for the third time in a row. According to this ranking, our software is used by 12% of the top 1,000 online stores in Germany with the highest sales – 120 of the most popular online stores in Germany thus rely on the software provided by Shopware. This means that Shopware is the market leader for the third consecutive time and continues to increase the lead over Magento.
Shopware's rise to the top shop system
In 2021, Shopware achieved a market share of 11.5%, putting it in second place in the ranking. In 2022, Shopware increased its market share again, taking the top spot for the first time. The success continues now, as Shopware confirmed its top position and again reached a market share of 12% [1].
In line with last year's predictions, Shopware thus makes it to the top of ranking as the most popular ecommerce platform. We think that Shopware 6's rapid product maturity and our unique open-source approach are the main reasons for this positive development. We're very pleased about the trust placed in us by Germany's top-selling merchants. Many thanks for this!
Turnover development of the top 1,000 online stores stagnates
In addition to the top ecommerce platforms, however, the study by EHI and eCommerceDB focuses primarily on the most popular online stores in Germany. Last year was a first, as sales in German ecommerce fell for the first time in 15 years, as the study by EHI and eCommerceDB showed. This decline now appears to have been overcome, as the turnover of the leading 1,000 players in German online retail remained virtually unchanged in 2023. Their total turnover fell only slightly by 0.2% net, not taking inflation into account. This results in a slight loss in turnover of 164.5 million euros to a total of 77.5 billion euros compared to the previous year. The impact of the coronavirus on online retail has faded, and the market is returning to where it likely would have been without the pandemic. Lars Hofacker, Head of E-Commerce Research at EHI, expected modest growth of 1.1% in 2023 for the top 1,000 online stores. Before the pandemic, these stores grew by an average of 10.7% each year. If that trend had continued, 2023 revenue would have been 77.6 billion euros – almost the same as the actual 77.5 billion euros reported. In 2024, the turnover is expected to reach 78.3 billion euros, meaning that the top 1,000 would remain below the hypothetical pre-Covid trend for the first time [1].
Turnover of top 1,000 online stores with forecast: Net ecommerce turnover over time in Germany and forecast for 2024 (in billion euros)
The top online stores in comparison
Among the top 10 online stores with the highest turnover, shop-apotheke.com recorded strong growth. With growth of 15.4 %, the store made it into the top 10 for the first time. apple.com, on the other hand, recorded a drop of 13.7 % this year after strong growth last year (+18.2 %).
Top-10-online stores in Germany: Net ecommerce revenue 2023 (in million euros)
However, the strongest growth among the top 10 online stores with the highest sales was recorded by apple.com. With a growth of 18.2%, the large technology company was one of the few to achieve positive growth.
Want to learn more?
In the German press release of the retail institute EHI you can read all further details about the study. You can also find the B2B online store ranking of the top 100 online stores in Germany here. For more information about the leading ecommerce platform in Germany, you can browse here in the blog.
[1] https://www.ehi.org/presse/erstmals-ruecklaeufiger-umsatz-im-e-commerce/
