The data comes from the Statista Global Consumer Outlook. A previous study shows that Germans also rely heavily on user reviews before making a purchase online.

Search engines dipped from 70 to 60 percent

Nearly 70 percent of German shoppers used search engines like Google before making a purchase in 2019. Now, that number has lowered to 60 percent. Although Google Shopping is still the largest channel, it is showing a clear decline in popularity.

Social media up by 7 percent

Aside from search engines such as Google Shopping, price comparison websites have also lost popularity. The percentage of Germans favoring it has dipped from 33 percent in 2019 to 28 percent in the past year.

Video websites like YouTube are up by 4 percent.

On the other hand, the use of social media for product research has increased by 7 percent. Video websites such as YouTube have also peaked in popularity, now up by 4 percent compared to 2019. Product research through blogs and podcasts have increased a little, from 5 percent to 7 percent.

Changing customer behavior

The statistics point to a change in customer behavior in Germany. The popularity of social media and video websites could point to Germans valuing personal recommendations more when shopping online. To illustrate, recent statistics show that 55 percent of Germans base their purchase decision on customer reviews.