Frequently Asked
Questions

Input Intel is a B2B market intelligence platform for international exporters, manufacturers, and trade agencies who want to enter or expand in the German e-commerce market.

Instead of spending weeks manually researching retailers, you browse a curated database of 9,200+ verified German online shops — filtered by product category, enriched with contact data, and analyzed by AI — so you can focus on pitching, not finding.

Google returns millions of unstructured results. Generic databases cover all industries globally but are shallow on Germany-specific e-commerce.

Input Intel is purpose-built for cross-border sales into Germany. Every entry is a verified German online shop with category tags, contact data, company registry details, and live screenshots. The AI Report layer adds competitive context, buying signals, and a tailored contact strategy — specific to each retailer.

The database currently contains over 9,200 verified German e-commerce retailers, spanning more than 50 product categories — from Fashion and Electronics to Outdoor, Food & Beverages, and Industrial Supplies.

We continuously add and verify new entries. The total is updated in real time in the Discovery interface.

Core company data (name, address, registry, contact details) is verified at the time of entry and reviewed periodically. Shop screenshots can be refreshed on demand using Credits — giving you a live view of the retailer's current storefront at any time.

Each shop entry includes:

• Company name, legal form, and commercial registry (HRB)
• Address, postcode, and city
• Email and phone number
• CEO / managing director name
• VAT ID
• LinkedIn profile URL (where available)
• Product category tags
• Live shop screenshot

Yes. The Discovery interface includes a category filter covering 50+ product verticals — such as Fashion, Sports & Outdoor, Electronics, Home & Garden, Food & Beverages, Automotive, and more. You can also use keyword search to find shops by name or topic.

The AI Report is a one-click deep analysis of any retailer in the database. It uses live web research to generate an 8-section intelligence brief covering:

• B2B fit assessment
• Ideal supplier profile
• Product focus and assortment gaps
• Buying signals and market trends
• Latest news and developments
• Personalised contact strategy and pitch recommendation

Each report costs 1 Credit and can be downloaded as a PDF.

Contact data is sourced from official imprint pages (Impressum), commercial registries, and company websites — the same sources used by German compliance and legal teams. We aim for high accuracy on structured fields (registry, address, VAT). Email and phone data accuracy depends on how current the retailer's own published information is.

Filter by category, browse shops one by one with the live screenshot view, and click Add to Pipeline for any retailer that looks promising. Add timestamped notes with contact type tags (Email, LinkedIn, Call, Post) as you work. When ready, export your full pipeline or a single lead as a CSV — including all your notes.

Yes. You can export your pipeline as a CSV file — either your full pipeline or a single lead. The CSV includes all company data fields plus your notes, making it ready to import into any CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, or a spreadsheet).

The AI Company Analysis Report can be saved separately as a PDF.

Credits are used for two actions that consume external API resources:

• Screenshot Refresh — 1 Credit to get a fresh live screenshot of a shop
• AI Company Analysis Report — 1 Credit per report generated

Each plan includes a monthly Credit allowance. Additional Credits can be topped up at any time and never expire.

Currently, each subscription is for a single user login. If you need team access or a volume arrangement for your agency, contact us — we handle team setups individually.

We offer a free demo with live data — no signup required. Try the demo to browse a selection of real German retailers before committing to a plan.

• Monthly — Full access, billed monthly. Maximum flexibility.
• Annual — Same full access at a reduced monthly rate, billed once per year. Best value for ongoing market intelligence.
• Prepaid — One-time payment for 12 months of access. Ideal for project-based market entry campaigns with a defined timeline.

All plans include the same data access and feature set. See the pricing page for current rates.

Yes. Monthly plans can be cancelled at any time — access continues until the end of the billing period. Annual and Prepaid plans run for the committed period without auto-renewal unless you choose to renew.

Yes — we work with trade consultancies, export agencies, and chamber of commerce programmes on a case-by-case basis. Get in touch to discuss a partnership arrangement.

All data is hosted on EU-based servers (Germany) via Mittwald, a German hosting provider. We do not use US-based cloud infrastructure for user data storage.

Yes. The retailer contact data in our database is sourced exclusively from publicly available, legally published sources — primarily the mandatory Impressum (imprint) that German law requires every commercial website to display. This is B2B data used for legitimate business outreach, consistent with GDPR's lawful basis provisions.

For our full data handling policy, see the Privacy Policy.

Input Intel is built by Axel Pawlowsky, a cross-border trade specialist with years of experience in the German market. The platform grew out of real export consultancy work — the database and methodology were developed to solve an actual prospecting problem, not as a generic data product.

Input Intel Ltd is registered in the United Kingdom. Learn more →