Austrian internet buyers mainly buy cross-border

Online spending in Austria has grown by 5 percent in a single 12 months, reaching 10.6 billion euros. Greater than half of the expenditures are made in foreign webshops. “Dramatic”, says the Austrian Handelsverband.

The trade association responds to the outcomes of a comprehensive ecommerce study, commissioned by Handelsverband and conducted by the research institute KMU Forschung.

Comeback

In line with Handelsverband, online trade has made an “economic comeback”, with clothing, electronics, and furniture as the biggest product categories. After a period of stagnation, online spending in Austria is on the rise again, although the expansion figures (April 2023 in comparison with April this 12 months) are also because of inflation.

Inflation has also caused Austrian consumers to critically have a look at their spending patterns, which negatively affects environmental awareness. Of the respondents, 42 percent indicated that that they had returned not less than one item, in comparison with 38 percent a 12 months earlier.

Cross-border ecommerce

The roughly 6 million Austrian internet buyers can now pick from greater than twelve thousand domestic online shops, in accordance with the researchers. Nevertheless, most of their online purchases come from foreign providers: 54 percent of the expenditures flow there.

54% of expenditures flow to foreign webshops.

The research shows that especially the youngest Austrian consumers buy rather a lot at foreign retailers. Half of the over-fifties say they never make purchases from international players.

Dramatic development

Rainer Will, director of Handelsverband, speaks of a “dramatic” development: “Almost 6 billion euros now flow to foreign online stores. Austrians thus finance roughly 150,000 jobs abroad, also in consequence of essential legal frameworks and inadequate customs controls.”

‘Austrians finance 150,000 jobs abroad.’

Competition conditions

Internet buyers are primarily attracted by the lower prices of products across the border. The Austrian Handelsverband will vigorously advocate for fairer European trade, says director Will: “We’ve got no other alternative but to work towards fair competition conditions and the abolition of the VAT exemption as much as 150 euros, no later than 2026.”