Ecommerce & The Quality of Life

As a consumer, has ecommerce improved the quality of your life? According to a new study conducted by Deutsche Post DHL, ecommerce both simplifies the lives of shoppers and significantly improves the quality - at least for those in Germany.

Amongst online shoppers in Germany, 44 percent reported improvements in their quality of life, reasoning that it is more fun (41 percent), less stressful (63 percent) and allows them to better manage their time (81 percent). Of the respondents a whopping 75 percent were certain that online shopping had a positive impact on quality of life for those with only limited access to brick-and-mortar retail establishments.

Perhaps most interesting was that Web shopping was perceived as being an "emotional experience". Two-thirds of those surveyed look forward to their package being delivered. Over 50 percent of respondents said the experience was akin to "receiving a gift," and that they experience an emotional high when their online purchase is delivered.

"The core finding of the study is that ecommerce has become part of mainstream society. Increasing numbers of people of all ages are using this convenient alternative to the stressful obstacle course of physical shopping. Ecommerce is simplifying our professional and our personal lives," says Jürgen Gerdes, member of the management board and responsible for the MAIL Division at Deutsche Post DHL.

"Ecommerce has to be convenient for everyone involved - both for sellers and for buyers. For us, the result is a clear mandate from our customers: We need to guide our customers in the digital world as well and enable them to have convenient and safe access to the internet."