German home shopping giant Otto said its 'Mobile First' web initiative has paid dividends, helping its global online sales hit €6 billion last year.
Group online sales rose 7.6 per cent while sales at its German division increased 7.8 per cent to around €4 billion (£3.3 billion).
The company is aiming to accommodate half its online traffic via mobile devices by 2016 through over 100 web sites around the world. It said some of its sites are already experiencing 40 per cent of traffic from mobiles.
'These figures emphasise the Otto Group’s outstanding market position as the world’s second-largest online retailer and Europe’s largest online retailer in the end-customer fashion and lifestyle sector,' the company said in a statement.
Otto faces competition in Germany from Amazon, which increased sales in Germany by 21 percent to $10.5 billion in 2013, and online fashion retailer Zalando, which increased annual sales by 52 percent to €1.76 billion.
Otto plans to invest €300 million in ecommerce by 2015 as part of a three year plan. This year it will channel 'major investment' into technology, multichannel networking, service and venture capital through businesses including the main Otto group, sites such as SportScheck, online payment service Yapital and its investment incubators Project A and eVentures.
It is also planning a new online shopping hub code-named 'Collins' which it describes as 'an online ecosystem with several specialist shops for young, fashion-conscious women' on May 5.
It said half of Germans now own a smartphone after a 26 per cent increase last year. The number that own a tablet has increased 39 per cent to about one in five.
'It is clear that the trend towards mobile terminals is spurring us on to implement a sustainable mobile strategy. Smartphones and tablets enable a highly personalised, impulse-driven shopping experience that more and more consumers are clamouring for,' said Rainer Hillebrand, vice chairman of the executive board and executive in charge of corporate strategy, e-commerce and business intelligence for the group.
The German Retail Federation said total e-commerce sales increased 12 per cent to €33.1 billion last year.
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