Germany sees growth in in‑store shopping and AI‑assisted online purchases

A recent Adyen study shows that German consumers are shifting back toward physical retail. Preference for online shopping fell by six percentage points, while visits to brick‑and‑mortar stores rose by four points. One‑third now favour shopping in a store, 21 % shop mainly online and 46 % use both channels, creating a balanced omnichannel landscape. Loyalty programmes are less effective in Germany than across Europe, with only 46 % of shoppers responding positively.

Deloitte’s "State of Agentic Commerce in Europe" survey finds that 52 % of German consumers already use AI‑driven shopping assistants for online purchases, an eight‑point increase since September 2025. The most common uses are price comparison (32 %), product comparison (24 %) and review summarisation (22 %). Only six percent would let an AI make a full purchase decision. Respondents cite data‑privacy concerns (37 %), fear of manipulation (32 %) and loss of human contact (30 %) as barriers, though privacy worries have dropped from 52 % to 30 % over the past year. Egbert Wege of Deloitte warned that retailers must win both human and AI attention to stay relevant.