More and more online shoppers end up in the debt trap
Created: 01/13/2023, 16:40
By: Yannick Hanke
More and more online buyers in Germany end up in the debt trap.
© Mohssen Assanimoghaddam/dpa/Symbolbild
Online shopping has been extremely popular since the Corona pandemic at the latest.
But beware: If you are not careful, you will quickly end up in a debt trap.
Berlin – The trend towards online shopping cannot be dismissed out of hand.
However, this development also has a negative aspect.
Because more and more people in Germany are falling into the debt trap as a result.
As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Thursday, January 12, 2023, 28 percent of the approximately 575,000 people who sought help from a debt counseling center in 2021 had outstanding invoices from online and mail order companies, reports
kreiszeitung.de
.
Debt trap online shopping: More and more consumers in Germany are accumulating liabilities
The proportion has increased by three percentage points within five years.
In 2016 it was still 25 percent of a total of around 617,000 people advised.
According to Destatis, the debts that over-indebted people had with creditors in the online and mail order business amounted to an average of 587 euros.
However, that would only correspond to just under two percent of the total average liabilities of all over-indebted people of 31,087 euros.
For comparison: in 2016, the average debt burden was "only" 510 euros.
Women are more and more heavily indebted as a result of online shopping
If consumers are broken down by gender, women are more often and more heavily indebted as a result of online shopping.
Because almost 35 percent of the women who sought the help of a debt counseling center in 2021 had payment arrears with online and mail order companies.
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For men, on the other hand, the proportion was 23 percent.
And the average debt burden is also significantly higher for women than for men.
Here 779 euros face 425 euros.
Online shopping is particularly popular with younger people – who also often have open liabilities
Younger people in particular would often resort to online shopping.
They would therefore also have more open liabilities.
In figures, this is as follows: 38 percent of the 20 to 24-year-olds advised are indebted to companies in the industry.
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And with increasing age, age decreases again and again.
Because while 34 percent of the 25 to 34 year olds still had payment arrears, the proportion of the 55 to 64 year olds was only 21 percent.
Consumers in Germany prefer to shop online for clothing and shoes
In general, online shopping is widespread in Germany.
According to Destatis, 81 percent of 16 to 74 year olds have ordered goods or services online.
There are only minor differences between the sexes.
Because while 82 percent of men were among the online buyers, the proportion for women was 80 percent.
Clothing, shoes, accessories and sporting goods in particular are in high demand.
Almost half of the population aged 16 to 74 would have ordered products from this product group online in the first three months of 2022.
Movies and music (29 percent) as well as food, drinks and everyday goods (21 percent) are also popular.
In addition, 19 percent of Germans obtained books, newspapers and magazines via the Internet.
17 percent booked accommodation online.
Online trade in 2022 with a slump in sales – will the trend reversal succeed in 2023?
But what is also part of the truth: in 2022, the online trade business stalled.
The reasons for this are the Ukraine war and the energy crisis that followed, as well as inflation.
That would have reduced the purchasing power of consumers.
The Federal Association of E-Commerce and Mail Order Germany (BEVH) speaks of a drop in sales of 10.8 percent - from July to September 2022 alone.
However, experts expect online trade to make a comeback in 2023.
Accordingly, many online retailers should benefit from inflation.
Although many people want to continue consuming, they want to pay more attention to their money.
However, since fewer staff are required in e-commerce, cheaper prices are possible.
A situation from which both sides should benefit.