Demand has fallen: Penny discontinues online home delivery in Germany

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 08. 22. 11:03

Penny has announced that it will discontinue its online grocery delivery service in Germany, as customer interest has significantly decreased following the pandemic. The discount chain intends to focus entirely on its physical store network again in the future.

The share of online sales in the German retail market was only around 3 percent last year, which is far behind the online penetration of the fashion or electronics sectors. This explains why Penny sees greater growth potential in traditional stores rather than costly logistics operations. As part of this, the company has also terminated cooperation with its previous partner, Wolt.

Penny’s online home delivery service is still available in several European countries: in Hungary, customers can order in more than 40 settlements with the help of Foodora, in the Czech Republic Wolt is also the logistics partner, while online ordering operates on its own platform in Italy, Romania and Austria.

There has been no news in the German press so far that Penny is planning to discontinue home delivery in other markets. However, experts say it cannot be ruled out that if demand remains low, the German parent company could make a similar decision in other countries. This could pose a risk, especially in markets where the service has not yet been able to gain any significant market share.