So schenken die Deutschen

With over 2.1 million articles, six million online customers and an average of a million visits a day, otto.de is Germany’s biggest online shop for fashion and lifestyle (B2C). Visits peak at Christmastime, with up to two orders being placed every single second – and these orders paint a picture of what the Germans like to give. So what articles do the citizens of the different German federal states like to put under the tree? How much do men and women spend at Christmastime when shopping online at otto.de? OTTO has analysed the past three Christmas seasons and discovered some fascinating facts!

The smallest federal state is the biggest spender.

On average, the people of Bremen spend 377 euros on friends, family or themselves. This means they invest around 39 euros more than the typical German shopper. The men of Bremen are particularly free with their money: their average online shopping basket total comes to 429 euros.

Munich? Düsseldorf? Hamburg? Neunkirchen!

If you look at the three most populous cities of each federal state, the city of Neunkirchen in Saarland really stands out. The typical shopping basket there comes to 426 euros. In particular the men of this Saarland city dig deeper in their wallets at Christmas time: their shopping baskets total a record-breaking 643 euros on average. Another little fact: Homburg, another city in Saarland, also features in the top 3 when it comes to the highest-value Christmas shopping baskets.

The capital cities for shopping queens.

Among the three most populous cities of each federal state, there are only eight cities where women have a bigger average shipping basket value than men: Chemnitz, Dresden, Gera, Homburg (Saarland), Jena, Kiel, Lübeck and Stuttgart.

A peek into Germans’ shopping baskets reveals which hot items end up under the Christmas tree in each federal state:

The people of the Rhineland Palatinate really put their best feet forward.

In the Rhineland Palatinate, women ensure their men get a decent footwear at Christmas time –at least when it comes to buying men’s slippers: they spend ten euros more (46 euros) than the women of Bremen (35 euros) for instance. The average for Germany is 42 euros.
Flat out under the Christmas tree. Either it’s vitally important to the men of Saarland to have freshly-ironed shirts for the holidays, or they give their partner a clothes iron as a gift. Typically, the Germans spend 104 euros when buying an iron at Christmas time. At 142 euros, the male shoppers of Saarland take first place by a clear margin.

Bremen glams up.

While Germans hunting for women’s cosmetics at Christmas time spend an average of 54 euros, the men of Bremen are really generous in the women’s cosmetics product category, investing 69 euros when doing their Christmas shop.

Dreaming of a white Christmas.

White Christmases are guaranteed in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – at least in the wardrobe. While those Germans who buy a washing machine at Christmastime spend an average of 455 euros on this, customers in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern spend an average of 480 euros on a Christmas present with a spin cycle.

So much for drinking tea…

Germans who buy a bean-to-cup coffee machine typically spend 589 euros on one at Christmas time. The northern Germans, supposedly the nation’s tea drinkers, turn out to be those who also spend more on a good coffee. Overall, customers from Schleswig-Holstein (632 euros), Bremen (623 euros), Lower Saxony (620 euros) and Hamburg (618 euros) spend more when purchasing a bean-to-cup coffee machine.

In Hessen, Santa comes by bike.

Typically, Germans who give bicycles as presents spend 377 euros on one at Christmas time. Those from Hessen are also prepared to dig a bit deeper in their pockets for this mobile Christmas present, paying on average 410 euros. The men of Hessen are more than happy to spend a bit more on a bike, at 535 euros on average. When it comes to the ladies, at 386 euros the female cyclists from Baden-Württemberg are prepared to invest the most at Christmastime.

Mind the gap.

The model railway is a traditional and almost forgotten Christmas present. The Bavarians still adore this lovely tradition, though, and their Christmas spirit really gets up steam at Christmastime. While the typical customer spends 160 euros on a model railway and accessories, the Bavarians tare the biggest miniature train fans, investing 230 euros.

More space for the Christmas turkey.

A lavish Christmas meal and loads of guests: two possible reasons why the people of Baden-Württemberg typically spend more on fridges than the average German at Christmas time. Those Germans who order a fridge at Christmas time usually spend 349 euros on one – compared to 386 euros in Baden-Württemberg.

Smartphones and tablets are booming in the capital.

In all likelihood, Father Christmas probably receives an ever-increasing number of digital Christmas wishlists from Berlin. After all, the customers in Germany’s capital spend an above-average amount at Christmastime on smartphones (445 euros) and tablets (416 euros). This compares to the German average of 400 euros for smartphones and 380 euros for tablets. By the way, around half of the visits to otto.de are now made via a mobile device – and that’s not only for Christmas shopping!

What does shopping behaviour look like in the individual federal states? How high is the average shopping-basket value in the three biggest cities of each federal state? For answers to these and other questions, plus a detailed overview on other regional and local information, see our extensive dataset.