No. The industry covers businesses whose main activity is mail-order and online retail. Manufacturers, wholesalers and brick-and-mortar retailers with an additional online shop are classified in their own economic activities.
G 47.91
Online shop operators, mail-order retailers and marketplace sellers with their own company – for parcel and fulfilment providers, payment providers, shop software, packaging manufacturers and agencies.
27,154 businesses in Germany according to Destatis, GENESIS table 48112-0002 (reference year 2024, table updated 21 September 2026). Class 47.91 retail sale via mail order houses or via internet: businesses whose main activity is mail order or online sales. Retailers with a shop and an additional online store count in their main class. We quote the size, contact coverage and price of your export on request.
This industry is the narrowest of the fifteen: a single class of the classification. 47.91 “Retail sale via mail order houses or via internet” belongs to group 47.9 “Retail trade not in stores, stalls or markets”.
The key word is retail. The class covers businesses that sell mainly online or by catalogue to end customers. A manufacturer with its own web shop remains a manufacturer, a chain store with an online shop remains a brick-and-mortar retailer, and a wholesaler with a B2B shop remains a wholesaler (division 46).
| WZ 2008 | Official title | For your selection |
|---|---|---|
| 47.91.1 | Retail sale of textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods via mail order houses or via internet | the only officially defined product group |
| 47.91.9 | Other retail sale via mail order houses or via internet | all other product ranges – from electronics to pet supplies |
| 47.99 | Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets | direct selling, vending machines – not part of this industry, can be added on request |
There is no register of online shops. In return, hardly any industry is so thoroughly obliged to disclose information about itself.
These 15 columns are included.
The most common disappointment with this target group: well-known shops are missing because, statistically, their operator is something else. The furniture brand with its own factory is a manufacturer, the bookseller with three branches is brick-and-mortar retail. Anyone looking for “all companies with an online shop” is looking for a technical feature of the website, not an economic activity.
Conversely, class 47.91 contains retailers without their own shop who sell exclusively via marketplaces. Their business address may be a private home.
Shop system, order volume and shipping provider would be obvious selection criteria for suppliers in this market. None of these details is in a public register, and none is part of the planned export.
We are a fulfilment provider with a warehouse near Leipzig and are looking for mail-order and online retailers (47.91) in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia in the legal form of a GmbH or UG with a website and phone number. We do not want sole proprietorships in this first selection.
Use cases
Contacting retailers in a warehouse’s catchment area by phone.
Market size by legal form and federal state for sales planning.
Sending samples by post to mail-order retailers in a region.
First contact by post, referring to an event or an analysis.
Questions
No. The industry covers businesses whose main activity is mail-order and online retail. Manufacturers, wholesalers and brick-and-mortar retailers with an additional online shop are classified in their own economic activities.
Only the trade in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods is officially defined (47.91.1). Everything else falls into a catch-all subclass. A finer selection relies on the company name and activity description and is an approximation.
Not for advertising. Stating it in the Impressum fulfils a legal obligation and is not consent. Marketing emails without prior express consent are unlawful under § 7(2) no. 2 UWG, towards businesses as well. More in the guide B2B cold outreach in Germany: what § 7 UWG allows.
27,154 businesses in Germany according to Destatis, GENESIS table 48112-0002 (reference year 2024, table updated 21 September 2026). Class 47.91 retail sale via mail order houses or via internet: businesses whose main activity is mail order or online sales. Retailers with a shop and an additional online store count in their main class. This is a figure from official statistics, not the size of our dataset.
Format, sources, price and marketing law (§ 7 UWG): questions about all industries.