Mondi: Silver surfers ride the online shopping wave in Central Europe

The latest market research on eCommerce shopping and packaging trends in Germany and Poland, commissioned by Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, shows that consumers of all ages continue to buy online and are in favour of eCommerce packaging that is ‘green’.

Online interviews with 3,085 consumers in Germany and Poland conducted on behalf of Mondi during the fourth quarter of 2021 showed that an impressive 90% of the surveyed population shopped online in 2021. The data was gathered during the annual peak season for online shopping, between Black Friday and New Year’s, a period in which holiday presents were often bought online due to – once again – the pandemic. In addition to regular online shoppers of all age groups, a rise in the senior generation of shoppers who have entered the digital malls is visible and they seem to enjoy the online experience.

Silver Surfers are here to stay
‘Silver Surfers’ are, and will continue to be, important contributors to eCommerce growth. In 2021 the growing demographic of consumers aged 55+ in Germany and Poland have been buying even more online than they did in 2020. Safety and health reasons during the pandemic motivated 41% of this group to shop online in 2021, but Silver Surfers also say they shop online for convenience (39%), the chance to buy things not available locally (45%), and to get a better overview of brands and offers (52%).

Sustainability expectations driving purchasing behaviour
As shopping online becomes routine, more people of all ages in Germany and Poland prefer packaging that is practical and sustainable. A strong majority of respondents want packaging to be reusable for returns (79%), easily foldable (69%) and recyclable (82%).

Environmentally responsible packaging can be a driver of sales, according to the research. Almost half of surveyed consumers (48%) would be willing to pay up to three Euros extra to receive their online purchases in environmentally friendly packaging.

Unboxing becoming brand loyalty influencer
‘Unboxing’ is the latest example of packaging’s importance to brand loyalty and sales. Awareness of this trend has been increasing over the past three years, and today close to half (44%) of surveyed online consumers have experienced the joy of unboxing, which is particularly valued by people in Poland (50%). More than half (58%) of consumers in Poland say that a nice unboxing experience would convince them to order again from the same online store.