The DACH ecommerce market is expected to continue its steady growth, with annual increases ranging from 3 to 6 percent.
In Austria, their share of ecommerce spending has already surpassed 10 percent.
According to the Austrian Retail Association, online spending in the country is expected to reach a record 12.3 billion euros this year, up 3 percent from 2025.
“The Austrian online retail market has finally reached maturity”, says Rainer Will, managing director of the Austrian Retail Association.
They note that the challenge now is to keep this volume within the country through attractive offers, reliable service and fair competition, so that the domestic economy benefits.
Spending flowing abroad remains a concern for the association, and not without reason, as around 47 percent of Austrian ecommerce spending goes to foreign retailers.
This year, an estimated amount will be spent on Chinese marketplaces such as Temu, Shein and AliExpress, accounting for a significant portion of total online spending.
Even so, American ecommerce giant Amazon still commands a considerably larger share of the Austrian market.
Online spending in Switzerland is growing even faster, with ecommerce sales increasing by 6 percent last year to the equivalent of around 17.1 billion euros.
Evgenij Isakulov of NielsenIQ says that foreign retailers continue to gain market share in Swiss ecommerce.
Recent figures have also been published for Germany, the largest ecommerce market in the DACH region, with online spending growing by 3.9 percent last year to 92.3 billion euros.
Ecommerce in Germany is expected to grow by a further percentage this year, with the federation describing ecommerce as the “growth engine of retail“.
Chinese marketplaces are also taking an increasing share of the German market, with Shein and Temu together already accounting for around 5 percent of ecommerce spending.
It estimates that these platforms divert billions of euros from the German economy every year.
Austria’s high share of cross-border ecommerce was also highlighted in a recent study by ECDB and Mastercard on Central Europe, which estimates ecommerce growth in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to be somewhat higher than the forecasts recently published by the respective national industry organisations.
However, much of the growth is being captured by the largest players, leaving smaller online retailers across the DACH region struggling.
For companies to remain competitive, they will need to adapt to changes in the market, such as the increasing presence of AI in ecommerce.
One thing is certain: the market will continue to evolve.
The situation is complex, with many factors at play.
Companies will need to be prepared to respond to these changes to remain competitive in the DACH ecommerce market, where the growth engine of retail is driving significant increases in online spending.
Related: JD eyes Very Group takeover bid