Benelux

Consumers from the Netherlands have spent about 1.6 billion euros at foreign online stores that are located in the European Union last year. That's an increase of 17 percent compared to the situation in 2017.

Online retailer VidaXL has started the realization of its second distribution center. Just like the first one, this building will go up in Venlo, in the southern part of the Netherlands, near Germany. The new dc, which will measure 80,000 square meters, is set to open in March 2020.

Apple Pay is coming soon to the Netherlands. And the first partner is known. Major bank ING will be the one introducing Apple Pay on the Dutch market. It's not exactly clear when consumers will be able to pay with Apple Pay in the Netherlands.

Micolet, an online marketplace that sells second-hand clothing for women, will expand to two new markets in Europe. The startup will set foot in both Poland and the Netherlands later this year. With this expansion, Micolet will be active in eight countries across Europe.

Picnic, the online-only supermarket from the Netherlands, launched its business in Germany one year ago. Now, the ecommerce company is already profitable in two German cities. In Mönchengladbach, the supermarket makes even more revenue than at the best location the Netherlands.

Beerwulf, a Heineken-owned startup that sells beer online, will expand to more countries in Europe. The company will expand to the same countries where home tap retailer The Sub is already active. Last month, Heineken consolidated The Sub and Beerwulf.

Ecommerce in Belgium was worth slightly over 7 billion euros last year. This is an increase of 20 percent compared to the situation one year before, when the Belgian ecommerce was worth 5.8 billion euros.

There were 5 million Dutch consumers who shopped online cross-border last year. That's a significant increase of 32 percent compared to the situation one year before, when there were 3.8 million cross-border shoppers in the Netherlands. Together, these 5 million people spent about 880 million euros at foreign ecommerce websites.

Dutch supermarket Albert Heijn has revealed a sneak preview of its latest innovation. The company is working on delivery robots. During this summer, the little robot cars will deliver groceries to customers on the High Tech Campus Eindhoven, home to more than 140 tech companies and institutions.

De Bijenkorf, a high-end department store chain from the Netherlands, will soon open an online store in Germany. The retail company will start with its German ecommerce website somewhere during the summer.

Ecommerce in Belgium was worth 10.67 billion euros in 2018. That's an increase of almost 6 percent compared to the situation one year before. Belgian consumers have not only spent more money online, they also shopped more often: last year, the average Belgian shopper bought something online over 11 times.

Ecommerce in the Netherlands was worth 23.7 billion euros in 2018. That's an estimated growth of 10 percent compared to the situation one year before. Last year, 96 percent of consumers aged 15 and over have purchased something online at least once.

Fashion retailer Zalando will expand its relatively new beauty category in Europe. Over the next two months, the German ecommerce company will start selling its beauty products in Sweden, Denmark, France, Belgium and Italy.

Bol.com, the biggest online retailer from the Netherlands, is rapidly transforming into an online marketplace that accommodates other vendors. The company's own revenue is still higher than those of its partners on its platform, but the third party seller's revenue is however increasing faster.

Ecommerce is becoming more and more important for Dutch postal company PostNL. Last year, 48 percent of the company's total turnover came from revenue derived from ecommerce logistics.