Industry Tips

Payoneer Teams Up with real.de to Boost eCommerce Amid COVID-19

We’re excited to announce that Payoneer has partnered with leading German digital marketplace, Real, to help sellers grow their business by focusing on the most in-demand products amid the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to the unusual circumstances, more and more consumers began purchasing goods online such as media, kitchenware, electronics, and more, while sellers had to overcome new logistics and challenges in their supply chains.

Together with Real, we were able to help onboard new sellers to meet this growing demand.

Germany’s Thriving eCommerce Sector

Ranked as the 5th largest eCommerce market in the world and with a population close to 84 million, Germany’s online retail industry continues to consistently grow as it reached a staggering $82 billion in 2020, a 13% increase compared to 2019. In fact, close to 90% of the population uses the internet, making it easier to market your online store to the widest audience possible.

The most popular online marketplaces include Amazon, Otto, Zalando, MediaMarkt, Bonprix and many others, with Amazon accounting for a massive 27% of all eCommerce sales.

As far as management of the pandemic is concerned, due to Germany having one of the world’s most developed logistics infrastructure, the authorities were able to effectively navigate the pandemic better than most European countries. This has meant less damage to the German economy, and thus offers a ripe environment for the eCommerce space.

Like other countries, Germany experienced an uptick in online sales during the peak of the outbreak. With strict lockdowns implemented across the country, consumers gravitated towards more entertainment and household goods.

According to Real, the following categories saw major growth:

  • Media consumption grew by nearly 500%
  • Garden and DIY product sales grew by over 400%
  • Sports and outdoor, kitchenware, household and food, electronics and computers, and baby and children categories all grew over 200%

As a result, COVID-19 prompted many German merchants to establish an online presence and create an eCommerce site in order to boost business.

Payoneer & real.de Launch Green Channel Service to Onboard New Sellers

In order to help meet demand and onboard new sellers for Real, who were focused primarily on these product categories, while ensuring they offer safe and high-quality goods, we introduced Real to our Green Channel service.

Payoneer’s Green Channel is a new matching and onboarding service designed to connect marketplaces with top merchants who have been pre-screened by our unmatched fraud and compliance capabilities, help marketplaces bring on new sellers, and help them expand to new channels quickly and seamlessly.

For international sellers, our partnership with Real offers them the opportunity to tap into one of Europe’s largest eCommerce markets. In fact, we’ve already seen instant results with some sellers experiencing over €1M in sales within their first month!

With our Green Channel service, we aim to provide sellers with the tools for diversifying their income and reducing losses from the current crisis and help both big and small eCommerce businesses to quickly expand into new markets.

Our partnership with Payoneer enabled us to combine the strengths of both our companies to support sellers and customers alike,” said Sebastian Rötsch, Director of Corporate Development at Real.

Richard Clayton

Richard is the Head of Content at Payoneer. An accomplished marketing manager, Richard is passionate about thinking creatively to communicate effectively.