Did you know that Austria leads the European Union in the production of skis and snowboards?
Probably a curiosity for you - unless you are a ski manufacturer and want to come out on top in Europe. That's why we have other interesting facts about the Austrian market. Check out 10 pieces of information about Austria that shed light not only on business and sales, but also on quality of life.
1. the most friendly place to live
How is life in Austria? Residents of Vienna are certainly happy.
The Austrian capital ranked 1st out of 173 cities in the Global Liveability Index 2023.
Vienna has repeatedly been at the top of the ranking. With the exception of 2021, the reason for this was that the quality of life was lowered by the pandemic.
Austria is one of three European countries in the top 10. In 2nd place is Denmark (Copenhagen), and in 8th place is Switzerland (Geneva)
Comfort of life is assessed on the basis of 5 categories:
- stability,
- health care,
- culture and environment,
- education,
- infrastructure.
This is the case in Vienna, but what about the rest of the country? Austria is ranked 14th in the ranking (World Happiness Report) of the happiest countries in the world in 2024 with a score of 6.91 on a scale of 0-10.
2. fast delivery in e-commerce
For Austrian consumers, delivery time and the ability to choose when they receive the shipment is very important.
According to study 2023 on delivery options:
- Same-day delivery is preferred by 38% of online shoppers,
- 58% of shoppers expect a choice of delivery times: standard or express.
What else is worth knowing about delivery in Austrian e-commerce?
Free delivery is a major factor in the purchase decision.
3. friendly business environment
Online public services for citizens and businesses in Austria are at a very high level, above the European average.
- User orientation in online public services: highest score 92% (EU: 88.3%)
- Transparency of digital services: 65% (EU: 59.5%).
The business service www.usp.gv.at and the Digitales Amt (Digital Office) application are cited as examples of international best practice.
The information comes from a report Austrian Business Agency.
4 Investing in research and development
Austria is one of the countries where companies spent the most on R&D per capita (2022). This statistic applies to EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries.
In terms of innovation globally, Austria ranks 18th. This is an impressive result. Especially if we consider that the Global Innovation Index 2023 analyzed 132 countries.
5. Amazon.de the e-commerce leader
If you want to sell on a marketplace, it makes sense to choose popular platforms, assuming, of course, that you will reach your target audience through them.
According to data from August 2024, the most visited e-commerce site in Austria is amazon.de.
In 2023, amazon.de. was also second to none in terms of net revenue. The site generated $980.5 million. In comparison, in the next position is zalando.at with 363 million.
6. some of the highest GDP per capita
The GDP per capita index allows conclusions to be drawn on, among other things, the purchasing power of money (real value), the standard of living or the level of infrastructure development.
In 2023. Austria was among the 20 countries in the world with the highest GDP per capita. It amounted to 57,081 US dollars.
Austria's GDP per capita is 20% higher than the European Union average.
By comparison, the value of GDP per person in the United States is $81,632, in Norway $87,739, and in Luxembourg, which tops the list, $129,810.
7. most companies using IoT in the EU
IoT (Internet of Things), or Internet of Things, is a network of interconnected devices that communicate and exchange data over the Internet.
According to Eurostat data, IoT technology was used in 2021. 51% of Austrian companies, the highest in the European Union.
Companies in the EU used IoT for, among other things, facility security (72%) and energy consumption monitoring (30%).
8. most purchased products online
What products are worth entering the Austrian market with? If you are in the apparel or furniture business, or manufacture or sell electronic equipment, consider this expansion direction.
Online stores in Austria sell the most products from categories such as:
- apparel (€2.2 billion in sales),
- electronic equipment (€1.5 billion),
- furniture (€0.9 billion).
9. the German variety of Austrian
German is the official language in Austria. If you decide to have a site in German, that is enough to sell through such a site.
However, it is worth knowing that in Austria, there is also a German variety of Austrian language and Austrian dialects. An example is the word "closet." A resident of Austria will say "kasten", in Germany we can hear "schrank".
10. common knowledge of the English language
The language other than German that you will communicate with Austrians is primarily English.
Austria in the Global Ranking of English language proficiency ranks 3rd out of 113 countries. The level of competence is rated as very high. The best in this regard is in regions such as Steiermark, Oberösterreich and Burgenland.
In some regions, Croatian, Slovenian and Hungarian are recognized as official languages of autonomous groups.
Are you interested in other markets?
Check out what to know about:
Summary
Austria stands out not only for its high quality of life, but also for its booming market. A friendly business environment is supported by advanced online public services, and a high level of English proficiency facilitates communication with customers and business partners.
We hope you find this information useful as you plan your new direction for international expansion.
Remember that your website also needs SEO strategy in Austria tailored to your industry. We can help you with that. Write to us if you want to plan your company's SEO in the Austrian market.
Source [Accessed 04/10/2024].
- https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-eurostat-news/-/edn-20220204-1
- https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/global-liveability-index-2023/
- https://ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/baug/irl/irl-dam/lehrveranstaltungen/bsc/site-management/Literatur/Economist_Jun-Global-Liveability-Index-2023.pdf
- https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-key-figures/w/ks-et-24-001
- https://ecommercedb.com/ranking/stores/at/all
- https://www.advantageaustria.org/lt/zentral/business-guide/investieren-in-oesterreich/standort-oesterreich/zahlen-und-fakten/zahlen_fakten.en.html
- https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1466055/online-shopping-popular-items-austria
- https://www.handelsverband.at/publikationen/studien/ecommerce-studie-oesterreich/ecommerce-studie-oesterreich-2023/
- https://www.migration.gv.at/en/living-and-working-in-austria/austria-at-a-glance/languages-culture-and-religion/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/270180/countries-with-the-largest-gross-domestic-product-gdp-per-capita/
