Isn't the competition quite intense in the world of eCommerce? Shopify has [4.8 million online stores and  2.1 million daily active users on average. In such a competitive and fast-paced world of eCommerce, staying ahead requires a deep understanding of the technological backbone that powers successful direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands.

Germany's eCommerce sector has been on a steady growth trajectory, with a projected market value of €90 billion by the end of 2024, according to Statista. At the same time, Germany stands as the 5th largest Shopify- one of the biggest eCommerce vendors in the world- market globally, underlining its pivotal role in the global eCommerce landscape.

That's why we collaborated with D2CVille and created a comprehensive report about what's happening at the top level of the Shopify market and which tools are being used by leading brands in Germany. We aim to explain the key dynamics of the German D2C market and provide valuable insights for your eCommerce store.

Methodology

We gathered raw data from Store Leads on March 26, 2024, using specific criteria to identify top German D2C brands on Shopify. Our filters required brands to be based in Germany, active on Shopify, and have at least one installed app from the Shopify App Store. This led to 77,159 domains meeting our criteria, from which we selected the top 100 brands based on their Store Leads and platform rankings to analyze their app usage.

Our focus was on paid apps, excluding infrastructure technologies and native Shopify apps📱. We compared our findings with a similar report by Jeremy Horowitz and Will Holtz to gain further insights into leading tools within the Shopify ecosystem.

Key Findings

Our analysis dives deep into the Shopify Tech Stack of these leading brands in Germany 🇩🇪 uncovering insights into their app preferences and strategic choices. Within the scope of this report, we have reached the following conclusions based on our analysis:

• The top brands are spread across Germany, with leading states including Berlin, Bavaria, and North Rhine-Westphalia. This suggests a strong eCommerce presence throughout the country.
• More than half of the top brands don’t use Shopify Plus, indicating that Shopify's core offerings are sufficient for most. However, similar numbers show a balanced adoption of Shopify Plus among larger brands.
• On average, the top 100 brands install around 9.56 apps, showing their reliance on Shopify's ecosystem to expand their store capabilities. This indicates a preference for a moderate number of apps to keep the user experience simple.
• There are numerous areas ripe for innovation and new app entries, notably in Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), subscriptions, analytics, and privacy.
• The competitive environment for app providers offers opportunities for differentiation and expansion, particularly in less saturated categories.

Overall, Shopify remains a fantastic platform for building eCommerce ventures, even though the landscape has become more competitive for both app providers and brands. Additionally, Germany stands out as one of the most important eCommerce markets, and its growth is expected to continue.

Exploring Key Categories of the Tech Stack

The report delves into various app categories, highlighting trends and opportunities within the German D2C market; these categories are:

📩 Email & SMS: Klaviyo emerges as a dominant leader in this field, with Mailchimp also maintaining relevance. The smaller selection of apps in this category compared to the global Shopify Plus apps suggests a unique landscape in Germany, presenting opportunities for newer players like Brevo.

💭 Reviews: While Yotpo remains significant globally, Trustpilot and other alternatives gain prominence among German brands, showcasing a competitive yet evolving reviews domain.

👥 Customer Support: Zendesk leads the pack, but there's room for growth and competition, especially with emerging players like Gorgias.

🤝 Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL): Klarna dominates the BNPL landscape, indicating potential for other providers to enter and capture market share.

💻 Subscriptions: With only a few brands utilizing subscription features, there's untapped potential for subscription-based apps to make their mark.

📊 Analytics: Brands prioritize data comprehension with a variety of analytics tools, signaling a focus on optimizing the customer experience.

🔒 Privacy: GDPR compliance apps like Consentmo and GDPR Legal Cookie are extensively used, reflecting the importance placed on privacy in the EU market.

📌 Download the full list to review 100 most installed apps by top german brands.

100 Most Installed Apps by Top German Brands

We discovered that the top 100 German brands use 363 different Shopify apps. Here are the top 100 apps they prefer, sorted by category. Here are the first 10 apps they prefer:

The German D2C market is full of opportunities for innovation and entering new markets through different app categories. As eCommerce grows, it's crucial to understand the technology and what customers want. Our report gives valuable insights into German DTC brands’ preferences.

To get all these insights right away, you can download the full list now!

About Fabrikatör & D2CVille 🚀

If it's about DTC, we're here to help! ✨

🔹 Fabrikatör empowers growing DTC brands with smart inventory decisions. With Fabrikatör, you can easily manage your stock levels, automate purchase orders, forecast demand for long-term strategies, manage backorders seamlessly, and much more! You can book a demo to learn more about Fabrikatör’s efficient inventory management features.

🔸 We proudly sponsor D2CVille, your go-to resource for new and established D2C businesses seeking tips and strategies for success. You can explore the journeys of D2C founders, full of inspiring successes and lessons learned, in D2CVille’s podcasts, and stay in the loop with D2C trends and news by subscribing to the newsletter!