EHI E-Commerce Report 2026: Apple Pay in almost every second top shop, Wero at 3 per cent
On 29 September 2026 the EHI published its analysis of Germany's 1,000 most important online shops: 97.2 per cent offer a wallet, Apple Pay rose from 37.8 to 49.0 per cent, Google Pay from 23.1 to 32.0 per cent. Wero is reported separately for the first time and stands at 3.0 per cent, while buying on invoice remains standard at 81.7 per cent.
What happened
On 29 September 2026 the EHI Retail Institute presented its “E-Commerce-Report Deutschland 2026”. It is based on an annually updated sample of the 1,000 most important B2C online shops and marketplaces, whose visible offering was analysed from the customer's perspective. 97.2 per cent offer a wallet, 96.6 per cent credit cards (Visa 94.3, Mastercard 94.1, American Express 52.3 per cent). PayPal is still almost everywhere at 96.3 per cent, Apple Pay rose from 37.8 to 49.0 per cent, Google Pay from 23.1 to 32.0 per cent. Wero is reported separately for the first time and is available at 3.0 per cent. Buying on invoice is offered by 81.7 per cent, instalments or financing by 45.9 per cent.
Who is affected
Online merchants planning their checkout, and merchants with both a shop and a web store: according to the EHI, around 69 per cent of shops with physical stores offer click & collect; within this group, the EHI says around 56 per cent allow online payment and around 35 per cent payment in store.
Analysis
The most interesting figure is not PayPal but the pace of smartphone wallets. Apple Pay gains more than eleven points in a year, Google Pay almost nine. That is the card in different packaging, and the customer brings it ready set up. Anyone still offering a 16-digit card form as the main route loses buyers who have long been paying with their phone in shops.
Wero at 3 per cent is an honest starting value, not a verdict. Online acceptance in Germany is still young, and the bridge to Bizum and others founded today targets person-to-person payments first. And the fact that four out of five top shops still sell on invoice is the figure that shows how much German customers want control over when they pay.
What to do now
- Check Apple Pay and Google Pay in your checkout and, if missing, have your payment service provider activate them; usually that is a configuration, not a project.
- Order the payment methods in your checkout by your own usage data, not by your provider's list.
- Keep an eye on Wero for now: activate it if that is possible at no extra cost, but do not commission a separate integration for it.