Ecommerce in The Netherlands

While the Netherlands is a small country, it has a significant share in ecommerce in Europe. In this country, the highest share of consumers shop online compared to other countries. That means that its ecommerce market is quite developed.

Content:

• Ecommerce customers
• The ecommerce market in the Netherlands
• Big online stores
• Ecommerce events
• Latest ecommerce news from or about the Netherlands

Statistics

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Ecommerce customers in the Netherlands

Based on data from 2024, an impressive share of 99 percent of the Dutch population has access to the internet. Data from the UN showed that 84 percent of Dutch internet users shopped online in 2023. And according to research from Statistics Netherlands, 81 percent of the Dutch population aged 12 years and older shopped online in 2024.

The amount of online shoppers is even higher in the demographic group of people aged between 25 and 45 years old. At least 94 percent of them shopped online in 2024. Online shopping in the age group between 65 and 75 has increased the most: from 64 percent in 2023 to 73 percent in 2024.

PAYMENT METHODS – The Dutch like to pay with iDeal, an online payment method developed by the Dutch banking community. Among the other popular online payment methods in the Netherlands are PayPal, MasterCard and VISA. Popular post-payment methods are AfterPay and Klarna.

Dutch ecommerce users like to pay with iDeal.

PRODUCT CATEGORIES – The most popular product categories in Dutch ecommerce are travel & tickets (4.9 billion euros), followed by food and near food (4.3 billion euros) and insurances (3.2 billion euros).

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The ecommerce market in the Netherlands

According to the Thuiswinkel Market Monitor, the Dutch ecommerce industry was estimated to be worth 36 billion euros in 2024. That was an increase of 5 percent compared to the situation in 2023. Online sales in the Netherlands currently account for 32 percent of the country’s total retail industry.

Big online stores in the Netherlands

The biggest online stores in the Netherlands are Bol.com (which has been at the top for several years now), Coolblue, Albert Heijn, Zalando and Wehkamp. Almost all of these are local players, with Zalando (Germany) as an exception. However, Amazon and Chinese marketplaces are gradually increasing their market share in the Netherlands.

The top 10 online biggest stores in the Netherlands is dominated by major online department stores. As they have reached significant market shares over the past years, it is becoming increasingly difficult for starters to join the Dutch online market.

Check out the full list of the biggest online stores in the Netherlands here.

Ecommerce events in the Netherlands

Every year there are several ecommerce events being organized in the Netherlands. We have a handy ecommerce events calendar, where you can find all the major online retail events in Europe.

Read all our articles about ecommerce in The Netherlands.

Want to read more about Dutch ecommerce?

If you are interested in more news about ecommerce in the Netherlands, and if you do not mind that it is written in Dutch, please visit Ecommerce News Nederland (Google Translate-version here). And if you are interested in Dutch ecommerce and entrepreneurship, you can visit Ondernemen & Internet (Google Translate-version here).