E-commerce sales in Germany hit a new record high of 72.6 billion euros (80.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019, the German E-Commerce and Distance Selling Trade Association (bevh) said on Tuesday.

According to the association, sales of products through e-commerce in Germany increased by 11.6 percent compared to the previous year's figure of 65.1 billion euros.

A "significant increase in the volume of orders" placed via mobile devices and the fact that one in three online shoppers in Germany would order goods online several times a week were the main factors behind the new record, according to the bevh.

"Germany's online trade is in the fast lane. E-commerce is becoming increasingly efficient and retailers are well equipped for further growth," commented Gero Furchheim, president of the bevh.

Sales of goods and services in interactive commerce, which included online sales as well as written and telephone orders, totaled 94 billion euros in 2019, according to the association.

One in three orders today are placed via smartphones and tablets, the association noted. Five years ago, this figure would have been less than 20 percent.

The results show that digital business is the driving force behind retail and that platforms are "increasingly becoming the operating system of the entire value chain," said Christoph Wenk-Fischer, managing director of the bevh. "Retail and wholesale will be digital, or disappear."

For 2020, the bevh expects a further increase in sales. However, due to the subdued economic outlook for the current year, the association projects a growth rate of only 10 percent. (1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollars) Enditem