The Netherlands

Dutch omnichannel retailer Coolblue is almost ready to enter more European markets. The company is already active in Belgium, where it will open more physical stores, but is working on expanding to other countries. "The last hurdle is multilingualism."

Dutch consumers increasingly buy their products and services online. Last year, 71 percent of the Dutch shopped online, which makes the Netherlands the fifth country in the European Union when it comes to the share of consumers shopping online. But the Dutch rarely shop cross-border.

Bax-shop, an online music store from the Netherlands, has expanded its presence in Europe. The retailer, which will change its name to Bax Music, has opened an online store in Italy, so consumers there can order articles for sound, stage and studio online. The Italian ecommerce website is the seventh online music store from Bax-shop in Europe.

Canadian retail business group The Hudson's Bay Company plans to open 20 new stores in the Netherlands over the next 24 months. The first stores are expected to launch in the summer of 2017 and are part of the company's all-channel retail model, so ecommerce websites will also be launched.

Online payment method iDeal from the Netherlands registered the billionth transaction that happened via its system. The milestone was reached during King's Day in the Netherlands, the national holiday that marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander. The online payment system has a market share of 56 percent and is being used since 2005.

Caliroots, a Swedish online retailer of streetwear and sneakers, has launched a tailored ecommerce website for the Dutch market. According to Caliroots, the Netherlands has been on the company's list of top 10 markets for a while and now they are launching Caliroots.nl, in Dutch and with the popular local payment method iDeal.

Bubble Post, a delivery startup from Belgium, has introduced its latest innovation. During an event of Topsector Logistiek Bubble Post showed its new bikes, which come with an actively cooled cargo space. It's an eco-friendly way for companies who want their perishable items delivered into city centers.

When you are running an ecommerce website in the Netherlands, you can't avoid offering iDeal. For years, this local payment method is the most popular online payment method in the Netherlands. A new graphic shows the other popular options you should offer as an online retailer.

Food-order company Takeaway from the Netherlands is considering an initial public offering that could the service at more than 1 billion euros. Official details aren't public yet, but news agency Bloomberg spoke to some people familiar with the matter.

Bol.com, the biggest online retailer in the Netherlands, is moving from being a traditional ecommerce player into a selling platform and fulfilment partner for third-party retailers. In an interview with Belgian newspaper De Tijd, managing director Daniël Ropers compared Bol.com with Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba. "We are building a network of expertise, retailers, services and products."

WeMarket has today officially launched its B2B marketplace. International buyers and sellers can do business with each other on this online platform, without having to deal with private customers. The Dutch website is an initiative of one of the founders of file transfer website WeTransfer.

B2C Ecommerce sales in the Netherlands are expected to reach 18 billion euros in 2016. The ecommerce industry was worth slightly more than 16 billion euros last year, but according to the Ecommerce Foundation the online retail industry is expected to increase by 12.1 percent and thus reach 18.014 billion euros.

Online retailer Bol.com was awarded with a prize for best online store in the Netherlands. The Ahold-owned ecommerce player won this award during the annual Thuiswinkel Awards Gala, a popular event which honors the best ecommerce players in the Dutch retail industry.

Ecommerce in the Netherlands was worth 16.07 billion euros in 2015. During that year, ecommerce sales increased by 16.1 percent compared to the year before. Also, Dutch consumers completed more than 142 million purchases online, which is an increase of 17.4 percent compared to 2014.

Dutch international retailer Ahold expects its online retail brand Bol.com to be a €1 billion plus consumer sales brand already in 2016. Last year, Ahold generated online revenues being worth 1.8 billion euro. Half of its digital sales came from Bol.com, which thus generated about 900 million euros in sales.