Hamburg is Germany’s top retail city. Not only does the city have a long tradition in retail and wholesale trade – it also plays a key role in German foreign trade.
Hamburg is an important retail hub and is one of northern Europe’s most attractive shopping destinations. The city’s catchment area encompasses northern Germany and also neighbouring Denmark. Hamburg’s shopping opportunities are also used by a great many tourists from all over the world.
The companies in the business-to-business retail sector serve as intermediaries between the various market players. Northern Germany remains important to Hamburg’s wholesale industry as an acquisition and sales market.
And building on the expertise concentrated in Hamburg in the area of mail order business, the city has also become one of Germany’s top online retail centres. Hamburg’s e-commerce sector reflects the wide array of sales structures available online. The dynamic development of online retail goes hand in hand with an increase in the number of service companies in areas ranging from marketing to logistics.
Economic data
Key figures of the retail
Data
Number of companies (1.1.2016)
31.154
- Retail (incl. car repair)
19.149
- Wholesale, foreign sale, trade mediation
12.005
Employees subject to social insurance contributions (30.6.2015)
137.516
Gross Value Added (Mrd. Euro)
11,3
Gross Value Added - Hamburg (Percent)
12,3
Size range of the companies
- 1-3 employees
24.946
- 4-9 employees
2.168
- 10-19 employees
714
- 20-49 employees
449
- 50-99 employees
154
- 100-199 employees
69
- 200-499 employees
50
> 500 employees
28
Retail key figures
Turnover in retail trade
around 12,5 Billion Euro
Retail Purchasing Power
around 12,3 Billion Euro
Index (D=100)
107,8
Retail Centrality (Index, D=100)
114,2
Shop space
around 2,6 Mio. sm
Space productivity
around 4.150 Euro/sm
Sources: Statistikamt Nord; Volkswirtschaftliche Gesamtrechnung der Länder: Reihe 1, Länderergebnisse Band 1, Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder; Michael Bauer Research GmbH, Nürnberg, und CIMA Beratung + Management GmbH / BBE Handelsberatung GmbH, München; Comfort Hamburg; GfK Geomarketing; Berechnungen der Handelskammer Hamburg.
Current climate for the retail
The calculated business climate indicator for the Hamburg economy and the respective sectors results from the assessments of the current situation and future development. The resulting values are between 0 and 200 index points.
