
The domestic retail sector looks on with concern toward competition from Asia. Section head Rainer Trefelik referred on Tuesday to an in-house study which shows that, although brick-and-mortar retail still plays an important role, “the negative message is that Asian platforms are increasingly overrunning us. And that is not a healthy development for Austrian retail.”
Seventy-two percent of the adult Austrian population shop online, most frequently ordering clothing and shoes, followed by furniture and garden items. Groceries, on the other hand, are bought online in this country by eleven percent of consumers. Eighty-three percent of purchasers prefer delivery to their home; package stations or post offices follow only at a great distance. Noteworthy is the return rate—it is said to be 56 percent in Austria.
Only One-Third of Online Retail Is Domestically Owned
Ten percent of retail spending now goes to online offers. Thirty-five percent of online expenditures go to domestic online retailers. Abroad, the study indicates, the Asian region is becoming ever more important. Forty-one percent of respondents stated that in the past twelve months they had shopped on Asian platforms.
Retail is calling once again for changes to customs duties. The €150 duty-free threshold must be removed as soon as possible, but measures for market surveillance and product safety must also be strengthened. Moreover, a harsher approach against fake shops is demanded. “They convey the impression that they are a renowned fashion boutique, lamp or watch company, and they advertise with clearance sales due to going out of business or similar. But in truth, these shops do not exist and never have,” said Trefelik. In the imprint one often finds an address from China.
Warning about Fake Shops
The retail head calculates: “According to a survey by the Austrian Institute for Applied Telecommunications, in the period from January 1 to April 30, 2025, exactly 36,725 advertisements with fraudulent intent were shown to Facebook and Instagram users in Austria, which lead to 71 fake shops. These advertisements reached 85.9 million people across the EU; in Austria alone the reach was almost 30 million.”