The growth rate remained stable, although modestly increased compared to 2020.
B2C turnover figures for 2021 show that e-commerce continues to grow, despite the lifting of lockdowns and the ability for consumers to visit physical stores again. Since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce has become even more firmly entrenched in the economy and society.
Overall, two trends can be identified. On the one hand, the normalization and stabilization of sales compared to the excellent previous year: e-commerce continued to grow in 2021 and is also forecast to do so in 2022, with growth stabilizing at a slow pace.
On the other hand, the report points out that consumers are more careful with their spending. The effects of the war in Ukraine, inflation, disrupted global supply chains and a general sense of uncertainty are pushing growth figures back to pre-pandemic levels.
However, the fact that e-commerce sales are experiencing only a slight decline so far shows that the digital commerce sector has become indispensable and very resilient. In addition, the online services industry, such as e-tourism, events and tickets, has seen a steady recovery over the past year.
