Pago Study 2004 Shows: E-commerce Has Grown Up

Pago Study 2004 Shows: E-commerce Has Grown Up

COLOGNE, Germany, December 1/PRNewswire/ --

- Analysis of More Than 16.5 Million Purchasing Transactions Gives
a Realistic Idea of E-retailing in Germany and Europe



Pago, the European e-payment specialist, now publishes its study on
European E-commerce for the third time. The Pago Study 2004, which will be
published in an English version on November 29, is based on the analysis of a
good 16.5 million purchasing transactions that were processed via the Pago
platform in 2003.



Again the study allows an insight into the buying and payment pattern of
consumers from Germany, Europe and the non-European foreign countries as well
as into the use of credit cards in E-retailing under the title "Status Quo of
E-Retailing in Germany and Europe". Besides the study offers statistically
verified information about the risk of bad debts for online-retailers. That
makes the Pago study the only investigation on E-commerce that is not based
on surveys.



"If you reduce the results of our latest study to the lowest common
denominator then the statement goes: Little has changed in E-commerce - and
that is a good thing, too, as it shows that E-commerce has grown up", Pago
CEO Rüdiger Trautmann says. The fact, that changes in the purchasing and
payment pattern are less volatile than e.g. in comparison with the years 2001
and 2002, is an evidence of this assumption.



It is also of interest in this context that on the one hand the choice of
the offered payment methods in the stores remains constant and on the other
hand the shoppers make more and more use of the credit cards. Cards are used
for payment in more than 92.6 percent of all purchasing transactions There is
a significant difference with German stores: Here electronic direct debit is
the most popular payment method - it is used in more than 64.3 percent of the
cases.



There is still a distinct risk of bad debts in E-commerce for the
online-retailers. The chargeback rate is a parameter for bad debts with the
credit card use. It is clearly below last year's value in international
stores (2002: 1.1 percent; 2003: 0.81 percent), which points to the fact that
fraud protection methods have been more effective than in the year 2002.



Thanks to the introduction of a new Data Warehouse technology and the
support by experts of the university of Karlsruhe it was possible to carry
out the investigations for the Pago Study 2004 with even more accuracy. In
addition it was possible to examine individual branches separately for the
first time. Here the focus was on E-retail (the online-retailing with goods),
the online-gambling (sport betting and gambling) and the telecommunication
services.



The international version of the Pago Study 2004 can be purchased for
500.00 Euro in the Pago-shop (http://www.pago.de/shop) as of November 29.



Hint: Journalists can obtain the Pago-study 2004 for free. Just ask for
your personal discount code per e-mail. Enter this code and you will not be
charged in the Pago shop.



About Pago eTransaction Services GmbH:



Pago eTransaction Services GmbH was founded in January 1999 and is one of
the leading know-how specialists for e-payment and risk management
world-wide. Pago offers full services in the field of electronic payment and
is active as an acquirer for MasterCard and Visa and also as a processor for
American Express, Diners Club and JCB.



Pago of Cologne, Germany - a joint 50-50 venture of Beisheim Holding
Schweiz AG and Deutsche Bank AG - supplies companies around the world with
professional know-how and highly effective business solutions in the field of
payment processing with a strong focus on the european market.



Pago markets its services and products directly as well as via a partner
network. At present Pago has more than 450 clients; companies like CTS
Evertim AG, Midray GmbH, Galeria Kaufhof, Parfümerie Douglas GmbH, REWE
Travel News Media, Thomas Cook AG, WEB.DE and T-Mobile.



Visit www.pago-international.com for more information



Press contact




Pago eTransaction Services GmbH dreimarketing GmbH
Andreas Stefanis Rainer Bartel
Head of Corporate Communications
Kaltenbornweg 1-3, D-50679 Cologne Pinienstr. 2, D-40233
Duesseldorf

phone +49-(0)221-3208-728 phone +49-(0)211-984946-40
fax +49-(0)0221-3208-8728 fax +49-(0)211-984946-53
e-mail: presse@pago.de e-mail: pago@dreimarketing.de





Source: PAGO eTransaction Services GmbH & Co. KG

Press contact: Pago eTransaction Services GmbH, Andreas Stefanis , Head of Corporate Communications, Kaltenbornweg 1-3, D-50679 Cologne, phone +49-(0)221-3208-728, fax +49-(0)0221-3208-8728, e-mail: presse@pago.de; dreimarketing GmbH, Rainer Bartel, Pinienstr. 2, D-40233 Duesseldorf, phone +49-(0)211-984946-40, fax +49-(0)211-984946-53, e-mail: pago@dreimarketing.de


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