What mandatory information does an online shop need?

Anyone operating an online shop in Germany is subject to a range of statutory information duties. Missing or incorrect mandatory information is among the most common reasons for formal warning letters in e-commerce – yet most requirements can be implemented cleanly with manageable effort. The following overview focuses on B2C shops based in Germany and summarises the key duties; depending on the product range, product-specific labelling obligations apply in addition.

The essential mandatory information

• Imprint (Impressum) – name or company, full postal address, contact options, authorised representatives, register entry and VAT ID (§ 5 DDG, formerly TMG)
• Privacy policy – information on the processing of personal data under Art. 13/14 GDPR, including analytics and third-party services in use
• Withdrawal notice – information on the 14-day right of withdrawal for consumers plus a model withdrawal form
• Price indication – total prices including VAT, clearly stated shipping costs and, for goods sold by weight/volume/length, the unit price (PAngV)
• Order button rule – the order button must be labelled unambiguously, e.g. "order with obligation to pay" (§ 312j German Civil Code); the essential contract information belongs directly above it
• Delivery times and availability – specific, non-misleading information instead of vague phrases
• Consumer dispute resolution notice – a statement on whether the shop is willing or obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings (VSBG)

Placement is just as decisive: the imprint and privacy policy must be easily reachable from every page – permanently visible footer links are the standard solution. The withdrawal notice and terms and conditions additionally belong in the checkout, where the customer can take note of them before concluding the contract. After the order is placed, the mandatory information must also be provided on a durable medium – in practice usually via the order confirmation e-mail.

Depending on the product range, further labelling obligations apply – for example textile fibre composition, energy efficiency labels for certain electrical appliances or food information under the EU Food Information Regulation. This information belongs on the product detail page so that customers see it before purchasing. A special rule applies to discounts: when advertising a price reduction, the Price Indication Ordinance requires stating the lowest total price of the last 30 days – generic strike-through prices without this reference are not permitted. When building or migrating a shop, such data fields should be planned into the product data model from the start; multilingual shops must also provide the mandatory information in every language version offered.

New obligations: withdrawal button and accessibility

Shop operators should have two recent developments on their radar: from 19 June 2026, online shops must offer a withdrawal button allowing consumers to declare their withdrawal directly and digitally – based on EU Directive 2023/2673. In addition, since 28 June 2025 the German Accessibility Act (BFSG) has required B2C shops to provide an accessible purchase process including accessibility information – find out more on our accessibility optimisation page.

General terms and conditions (AGB), by the way, are not legally required, but in practice they are advisable to regulate payment terms, delivery and retention of title reliably. Missing or incorrect mandatory information can be challenged under German unfair competition law – by competitors as well as consumer protection associations; data protection violations can additionally lead to fines under the GDPR. Since the legal situation evolves continuously – the withdrawal button being the best example – a regular review of the legal texts and their technical integration is advisable.