Benelux

Unlike most European countries, local players generate the most online revenue in the Netherlands. The top 3 in online spending for 2023 is led by online department store bol. Supermarket chain Albert Heijn, a sister company of bol, takes second place, and electronics retailer Coolblue is in third. Amazon rises in the new ranking and claims fourth place.

Nine out of ten Dutch employers in ecommerce are missing digital skills among the people who work for them. Especially in the areas of cybersecurity and innovative technologies, the shortcomings are significant. Employers expect that in the coming years, it will remain difficult to keep up with the development pace of AI.

In the first half of 2024, Dutch consumers spent €17.5 billion on online retail, a 6% increase compared to the same period in 2023, although the number of products purchased declined. The growth mainly stems from services, such as health and damage insurance.

More than seven out of ten Belgian consumers never (or almost never) return items that they have ordered online. This is because they only order items that they want to keep. Belgians are ordering online more often, with 40 percent of all purchases happening online.

This week, the list of the 30 fastest-growing Dutch cross-border sellers was announced at the CrossBorder Event in Utrecht. Jewelry brand Notbranded landed in first place, followed by Cloudpillo and Wristler.

The majority of Dutch online stores that sell products through dropshipping do not comply with legal regulations for online selling. Their websites lack contact details or information about returning orders, for example.

Online revenue in the Netherlands is expected to increase 8 percent this year, compared to 2023. Meanwhile, the total retail revenue will increase only 2 percent. This is due to an expected decline in supermarket sales, because of a ban on selling tobacco in those stores.

Online marketplace Bol has launched several updates this month. One of the updates is a new advertising option that allows sellers to highlight their brand and assortment in search results. There are also changes to the partner platform and review policy.

No country in the world has as many internet users shopping online as the Netherlands, according to a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The ecommerce penetration rate is 84 percent. At least four out of five internet users in the UK, Sweden, and Denmark also shop online.

At least 95.8 percent of European consumers shopped online in the first quarter of this year. In the United Kingdom, that percentage was 93 percent. And in the Netherland, 96 percent of consumers shopped online.

Swedish shipping software platform Ingrid is launching in the Netherlands. Retailers using the software can choose from more than 400 shipping options and carriers, in 80 countries and 42 languages, and add them to their online store. It is the company’s first international expansion.

Dutch recommerce platform BuyBay is launching a SaaS product, using its own recommerce software. Retailers and manufacturers can now resell returned products from their own distribution center. This will reduce their CO2-emission and increase their profit, says the company.

On January 1^st of this year, there were just over 101 thousand active online stores in the Netherlands. This means that the amount of online stores has more than tripled there in the last decade. Additionally, the amount of SMEs in this sector grew 252 percent during that period.

Last night, the Dutch Shopping Awards were presented for the 23^rd time. It is one of the most prestigious award shows in ecommerce in the Netherlands. Dutchies, a new online store selling handmade leather phone cases and bags won the PayPal Best Starter Award.

Consumers in Belgium spent 16.3 billion euros online last year. Compared to 2022, this is an increase of almost 11 percent. The strong growth was caused by an increase in sales of online services, like package holidays.