The impacts of e-commerce on the high street: Nascent responses in Germany

Abstract

This paper discusses nascent responses to the threat of e-commerce on city centres in the context of existing routes of study in the interdisciplinary, international literature. Germany is home to many vital, traditional city centre shopping areas that are managed and promoted by a variety of public and private actors. Yet, as in other advanced retail markets, online shopping shows steady gains. This study explores the complexity of e-commerce’s impacts on brick and mortar retail, especially through the lens of German land-use planning instruments. The case of a responsive marketing campaign in Würzburg, Germany illustrates many municipal governments’ failures to address the issue. Aimed at redirecting consumers away from internet shopping and back into their downtown high streets, the campaign was led by private-sector media actors. In the absence of research-based municipal action plans related to e-commerce, such makeshift and ineffective marketing campaigns are likely to become more widespread.