Despite economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, Germany’s online footwear market remained stable in the first quarter of 2026, as consumers continued to spend online

According to a consumer survey by BEVH (the German e-commerce and distance selling association) online footwear sales in Germany increased by 3.7% year-on-year to reach 953 million euros in the first quarter of 2026. Fashion-related categories maintained positive momentum, with clothing sales growing by 3.7% to reach 3.6 billion euros.

Overall, e-commerce turnover in Germany increased by 3.6% in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2025, reaching 20.4 billion euros. Despite ongoing concerns surrounding inflation, energy prices and international crises, the association highlighted the continued resilience of online retail.

“The crisis-induced decline in consumer sentiment has so far failed to bring down online retail”, Christoph Wenk-Fischer, CEO of BEVH. However, he warned that discussions around a possible VAT increase could negatively affect consumer demand, suggesting that “fewer subsidies combined with a reduction in bureaucracy would be a sensible alternative, as well as a sign of responsibility and public modernisation”.

The BEVH also reported that online marketplaces outperformed other retail formats during the first quarter of the year, achieving year-on-year growth of 5.2%. Multichannel retailers increased their online revenues by 3.9%, whereas pure online retailers only recorded growth of 0.6%.

Meanwhile, Asian online marketplaces continued to outpace the broader German e-commerce market. Temu, Shein and AliExpress increased their combined revenue by 12.9% year-on-year, reaching 990 million euros. While this was below the 33.9% growth recorded a year earlier, the three platforms still expanded at around four times the speed of the overall online retail sector, growing their combined market share from 4.5% to 4.9%.