In a new report, Germany: Online Overview, eMarketer estimates that there were nearly 40 million active Internet users in Germany in 2006, and expects that number to climb to nearly 50 million before 2011.
Importantly, for marketers, two out of three German Internet users are also online buyers — fairly big buyers. The average German online buyer spent $945 in 2006, and eMarketer predicts that spending amount to total $1,739 by 2010.
In 2006, German retail e-commerce sales hit $23.9 billion.
For comparison, the Forrester Research estimate of $28.8 billion for Germany's 2006 online retail revenues was higher than eMarketer's, while the Federation of German Retail Traders (HDE) offered a more conservative estimate of $20.5 billion.
Although Germany's online advertising market is only the third-largest online ad market in Europe, it is currently the fastest-growing segment of Germany's ad market and is expected to continue to post gains.
