ABSTRACT This study examines German online grocery retailing structures, market participants and the degree of digitalisation in marketing services. This industry is characterised by a subpar share (0.9%) coupled with an above-average growth (20% from 2015 to 2017) thus making the market economically auspicious. This has attracted new competition with pure online players joining the market themselves or pairing with established logistic providers. While there is academic research on global online grocery retailing mostly on consumer behaviour and adoption, academic research for the German market with a changing environment due to globalisation and an ageing society, is very limited. This research, therefore, functions as a baseline study to allow further confirmatory research on the German market. We conducted an exploratory, qualitative study based on 20 in-depth interviews with industry experts. Data analysis was conducted using MAXQDA, Vers. 2018, that facilitated qualitative content analysis (QCA). We found that logistic issues (specifically the maintenance of the distribution cool chain) and technological infrastructure are viewed as key drivers of online grocery retailing. Furthermore, the degree of digitalisation within service processing can be improved This is especially true regarding an integrated and holistic customer experience from order to reception. Most online grocery retailers still lack a convincing online service and communication strategy. This is particularly true with regard to the communication of real-time delivery location and the integration of social functionality within their online offerings. Marketers should, therefore, adapt to these crucial and perceivable remarks from the experts perspective.

中文翻译：

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德国杂货零售业的数字化：一项探索性研究

摘要这项研究研究了德国的在线杂货零售结构，市场参与者以及营销服务的数字化程度。该行业的特点是市场份额不佳（0.9％），且增长率高于平均水平（2015年至2017年为20％），因此市场在经济上处于吉祥状态。这吸引了新的竞争者，纯粹的在线参与者自己加入市场或与已建立的物流提供商配对。尽管有关于全球在线食品杂货零售的主要关于消费者行为和采用的学术研究，但是由于全球化和老龄化社会而变化的环境下针对德国市场的学术研究非常有限。因此，该研究作为基准研究，可以对德国市场进行进一步的验证性研究。我们进行了一次探索，定性研究基于对行业专家的20次深入访谈。使用MAXQDA，Vers。进行数据分析。2018年，这促进了定性内容分析（QCA）。我们发现，物流问题（特别是维护配送冷链）和技术基础设施被视为在线杂货零售的主要驱动力。此外，可以提高服务处理中的数字化程度。对于从订单到接收的完整，整体的客户体验，尤其如此。大多数在线杂货零售商仍然缺乏令人信服的在线服务和交流策略。对于实时交付位置的通信以及在线产品中社交功能的集成，尤其如此。因此，营销人员应该