Customer focus

25 years of otto.de

On 5 September, the e-commerce giant will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its online shop

9/1/2020 Editor Annika Remberg Reading time: 2 Minutes

The year is 1995: "Babe" is the most watched film in Germany, Borussia Dortmund wins the Bundesliga with a 2:0 victory over Hamburger SV, and otto.de launches an online shop

“On 5 September, Otto Versand began operating on the world's largest computer network - the internet", reported the Hamburg-based e-commerce company's staff newsletter in October 1995. What exactly did OTTO's first online presence offer? Information about the company, its history and business policy as well as service, advice and ordering features. Even at that early stage, customers could order items worldwide by e-mail and have them delivered to an address in Germany - online shopping in its infancy!

MockUp: So sah otto.de aus, als der Shop 1995 erstmals online ging.

Neben der Website konnten Kund*innen den OTTO-Katalog im Jahr 1995 auch per CD-ROM auf ihrem PC anschauen - und direkt bestellen.

Shopping through every channel

Today - a quarter of a century later - online shopping is still a fundamental part of OTTO's business model. The only difference is that the former online shop is now in the middle of the biggest upheaval in the company's history as it transitions from being an online retailer to a platform with a marketplace where other suppliers besides OTTO can also sell their products. What's more, the online shop has long since ceased to be the only way to shop at OTTO. In addition to traffic through its web shop, the e-commerce company is also focusing on its app. This now accounts for more than a third of OTTO's sales. "The online shop and the app are not mutually exclusive. We reach out to the masses through our shop, but we can target customers much more specifically via the app and make them offers that suit their needs even better," say OTTO's app experts Hardy Kühne and Julian Komar in the O-TON podcast. Voice commerce via Google Devices and smart TVs is also growing in importance. 25 years after otto.de was founded, the Hamburg-based company is not trying to find just one perfect channel for all its customers. Instead, the platform provider wants to make shopping on any device as pleasant as possible for its customers.

Alles auf App: OTTO feiert den 25. Geburtstag des Onlineshops mit speziellen Angeboten in der OTTO-App

Im Fokus der Mini-Kampagne zu 25 Jahre otto.de stehen Produkte und Services.

Shop and app join in with the celebrations

As part of its anniversary campaign, OTTO is celebrating its 25-years of online presence with its customers via both the shop and the app. In addition to focusing on products and services, the Hamburg-based e-commerce company will also make the most of birthday deals, special brand offers in the app and competitions. The mini-campaign will run from 1 September to 1 November 2020.