The Netherlands

Dutch fashion platform Otrium made considerable losses in the past year. The company is 50 million euros in the red. The year before, losses were at 8.4 million euros. This is mostly due to bonuses as well as further company expansion.

Benelux’s leading marketplace Bol.com now has 50.000 partner sellers. The past three years the number of merchants almost doubled. Partners are responsible for 60 percent of the platform’s revenue in the first quarter of 2022. The growth in sellers is slowing down after the pandemic, though.

Just months after expanding to Germany and Ireland, Canadian ecommerce investor Clearco is cutting 25 percent of its staff. This comes down to 125 employees. The company points to ‘the current macroeconomic environment’.

Dutch shoppers expect to buy more online in the next few years, in particular health, beauty and food products. For the first time, over half of consumers say they will buy more on their smartphone in 5 years.

At least four out of five Dutch elderly people regularly shop online. For most of them, convenience is the main reason to place online orders. However, the elderly often encounter obstacles. By making online stores more accessible, these obstacles are reduced.

JohnBeerens.com, the online beauty retailer from the Netherlands, is launching in France and Germany. The company is also working on its own product label and customer loyalty program.

Wehkamp, the Dutch online department store, made 782,7 million euros in turnover in 2021. That is 7 percent more than the year before. The retailer maintained its revenue, even though online shopping is returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Over 40 percent of online stores close customer care after 5 pm, according to surveys in Germany and the Netherlands. Almost half of German shops are not reachable at night. However, the evenings are a peak time for online shoppers.

Dutch online specialty coffee seller Wakuli has secured funding from investors. The size of the investment was not disclosed. Wakuli will use the capital injection for product innovation and expansion in Germany and Belgium.

Kaartje2go was named ‘DHL Best Online Store 2022’ at the annual Dutch Shopping Awards. The shop, which sells personalized postcards, also took first place in the ‘Gifts’ category. Interior design e-tailer Naduvi was named the fastest growing Dutch ecommerce business.

On 8 and 9 June, popular ecommerce and logistics event DELIVER will take place in Amsterdam. One of the companies exhibiting there will be Direct Link, a logistics provider. "Nothing beats physical events like this one, as it provides opportunities to get in touch with customers directly", says Ulrich Hinz, Direct Link Sales Manager in Germany.

PayPal has launched its funding solution for SMEs, called PayPal Funding Pro, in two new European markets: France and the Netherlands. The solution gives SMEs quick and easy access to growth capital. Online sellers can find it in the PayPal Commerce Platform.

Leading ecommerce software BigCommerce named Mollie, a payment service provider from the Netherlands, as Preferred Technology Partner. The Dutch fintech offers most of the popular payment methods in Europe. The news follows BigCommerce’s recent expansion to the Netherlands, France and Germany.

123inkt, a Dutch e-tailer of print cartridges and office supplies, is for sale. The company is said to be worth at least 500 million euros. Since its last annual numbers, the company has grown significantly, sources say.

Online fashion marketplace Secret Sales is entering Belgium and the Netherlands with dedicated online shops. The websites will be managed by a local team in the Netherlands. It's the first step in the company's planned European expansion.