Your Website Might Be Missing Out on a £93bn Market
UK exports to Germany, Austria and Switzerland are growing—but an English-only website could be leaving demand to competitors.
Germany, Austria and Switzerland bought approximately £93.2bn of goods and services from the UK in 2025.
That should make the German-speaking markets difficult for British businesses to ignore. Yet the more interesting finding is not the size of the export figure.
It is what has happened to Britain’s share of these markets.
UK exports have risen over the past decade, but Britain’s share of trade has fallen in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The markets grew; competitors captured more of that growth.
For UK companies relying on an English website to represent them internationally, that deserves attention.
£93bn is already a market, not a theoretical opportunity
The latest Department for Business and Trade country factsheets put UK exports in 2025 at:
£62.4bn to Germany
£4.2bn to Austria
£26.6bn to Switzerland
That produces a combined DACH total of approximately £93.2bn.
Germany alone was Britain’s second-largest export market. Switzerland was seventh.
These figures cover all goods and services. They are not a measurement of ecommerce revenue, and they certainly do not prove that £93.2bn of business passed through British websites.
That would be a convenient claim. It would also be nonsense.
The figures do, however, establish the commercial context. UK companies already do substantial business in German-speaking markets.
The question is how effectively British businesses are competing for the demand that exists.
Rising exports can conceal a weakening position
Combined UK exports to DACH rose from approximately £72.5bn in 2016 to £93.2bn in 2025.
That represents nominal growth of roughly 29%. It is not adjusted for inflation or currency movements, and the period includes Brexit, the pandemic and considerable supply-chain disruption.
The market-share comparison is more revealing:
MarketUK share in 2015UK share in 2024Germany5.7%4.5%Austria2.0%1.8%Switzerland7.5%5.5%
Britain sold more, but its competitive share fell.
This distinction often disappears when an impressive export figure reaches a strategy presentation. Growth in sales is treated as evidence that the approach is working.
Sometimes the market is simply growing faster than the business.
Where websites enter the picture
Services accounted for approximately £52.3bn of UK exports to DACH in 2025—more than goods.
A professional service, SaaS platform or specialist B2B product may not be purchased through a conventional online checkout. The final deal could involve demonstrations, procurement teams, contracts and several months of discussion.
The website still influences the sale.
It determines whether the supplier is found during research. It explains—or fails to explain—the offer. It provides the evidence buyers use to assess credibility, expertise, security, implementation and commercial fit.
That is why “sales made through a website” is too narrow a measurement for many B2B companies.
The more useful question is how much business the website influences.
If German-speaking buyers cannot find the company for the problems they are researching, the buying journey continues without it.
If they arrive at an English-only website, they must decide whether the supplier genuinely serves their market or merely accepts overseas enquiries.
If the language has been translated without adapting terminology, examples, pricing and trust signals, the website may confirm that the market is an afterthought.
None of this requires buyers to dislike English. It simply requires another supplier to make the decision easier.
German buyers are already online
Germany is not waiting to discover ecommerce.
The German Federal Statistical Office reported that 83% of people aged 16 to 74 bought or ordered something online in 2024—approximately 52 million people.
The B2B evidence matters just as much. KfW Research found that German SMEs generated €306bn through online sales of products and services in 2024. Around 868,000 SMEs sold through digital channels.
The digital route to market already exists.
The issue is whether UK businesses are visible and convincing within it.
An English website is not a neutral choice
There are perfectly sensible reasons not to enter Germany, Austria or Switzerland.
A business may lack the margins, operational capacity, local support, appropriate contracts or market demand. Ecommerce companies may conclude that VAT, customs, delivery and returns make expansion commercially unattractive.
That is a decision.
Leaving the English website unchanged because “German buyers speak English” is usually an assumption.
DACH is also not one convenient market simply because German is widely spoken. Germany, Austria and Switzerland differ in terminology, currencies, regulations, expectations and competitive conditions.
Some content can work across the region. Other parts of the website may need country-specific information, examples or reassurance.
The appropriate investment depends on the product and the commercial value of each market—not on the price of translating the existing pages.
The decision UK businesses should make
The £93.2bn figure is not a promise that every British company can succeed in DACH.
It is evidence that the economic relationship already exists.
The falling market-share figures are the warning. Other suppliers are competing for this demand, and an English-only website can make their job easier.
UK businesses should ask:
Is there relevant search demand for what we sell?
Which of Germany, Austria and Switzerland genuinely matter?
Can we serve those buyers profitably?
What would they need to see before trusting us?
Where are competing suppliers already more visible?
How much of the buying journey needs to work in German?
If DACH matters, postponing German-language visibility is not a neutral decision.
It means allowing competitors to be found first.