Austria's e-commerce is booming: 249,000 jobs and rising sales!

Austria's e-commerce is booming: 249,000 jobs and rising sales!

Vienna, Österreich - In Austria, around 249,000 jobs are currently located in the area of e-commerce, as reported vienna.at . This number comprises 46,600 direct employees in online retailers and around 202,400 indirect employees in important upstream professions, including logistics, IT, marketing and payment services. These developments show the importance of online trade for the Austrian labor market.

The study situation regarding e-commerce in Austria is promising. According to an investigation by the Eco Austria Economic Research Institute, which was carried out on behalf of Amazon, companies generated sales of 57.9 billion euros on digital sales channels in 2023. The proportion of e-commerce in the total turnover of Austrian companies rose from 5.3 percent in 2021 to 7.3 percent in 2023 and is therefore above the average of the EU-23.

growth and potential in e-commerce

eco Austria points out a "catch -up movement towards more digitized market segments", which takes place in Austria. Compared to countries such as Ireland, Sweden, Cyprus and Belgium, it becomes clear that there is still potential for digitization. The direct contribution of e-commerce to Austrian value creation amounts to an estimated 4.3 billion euros, while the indirect contribution is estimated at 8.8 billion euros.

The State Secretary for Digitization, Alexander Pröll, emphasizes the great opportunities that digitization offers for small and medium -sized companies. This underlines the relevance of e-commerce for the economic development of the country.

trends in consumer behavior

The 15th edition of the nationwide e-commerce study Austria 2024, under the leadership of the SME research Austria and on behalf of the trade association, offers insights into the changes in consumer behavior. The study, which was carried out from May 2023 to April 2024, shows that the mobile commerce grows by 36 % and the smartphone is increasingly acting as a dominant order channel. However, the total expenses in the Austrian online trade have increased moderately to 10.6 billion euros, which corresponds to an increase of 5 %.

In contrast to the growth figures in the mobile commerce, other areas have declines. The average per capita expenditure in distance trading dropped by 9 %last year. At the same time, the number of buyers has increased by 5 %, which shows that despite fewer expenses, more people buy online.

decline in returns and environmental awareness

An interesting development is the decline in the return rate, which has dropped from 44 % to 38 %. In the clothing sector, on the other hand, it rose from 43 % to 47 %. The reasons for the decline in returns are better product data, more sustainable customer behavior, faster delivery times and honest delivery information. The buying power abroad has also reduced, from 54 % to 51 %.

The study also shows that the willingness of consumers to buy environmentally friendly products has dropped from 65 % in the previous year to 47 %. Inflation -related factors seem to have a negative impact on the environmentally conscious buying behavior of consumers.

Overall, e-commerce in Austria presents itself as a dynamic sector with numerous growth opportunities, but also challenges that need to be mastered. Developments in the next few years will show how companies react to the trends and what role digitization will play in the economic future of the country.