The Netherlands

During the first quarter of this year, 74 percent of Dutch consumers bought services or goods online. This is a decrease of 3 percent when compared to the same period a year earlier. Consumers also bought less physical than digital products online.

Shopify is expanding its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) program to Europe. The program, which offers Shopify integrations for merchants, first launched last year. The company is working with local ERP software companies from the Netherlands, Germany and Spain for the European launch.

Amazon is gaining footing in the top of Dutch ecommerce. It outpaces Zalando and Wehkamp in 4th place. Bol.com remains number 1. For the first time in years, electronics store Coolblue is not the second largest online seller in the Netherlands. Albert Heijn passes the store by just 30 million euros.

During the first half of 2022, consumers in the Netherlands spent 16.1 billion euros online. This is a 9 percent growth when compared to the same period a year earlier. The growth mostly stems from a rise in online sales of services.

Dutch payments fintech Mollie is launching a new financial service, Mollie Capital. Merchants can now apply for a cash advance up to 250,000 euros. The company is planning to launch other additional services in the future.

DHL Supply Chain has acquired a majority stake in Monta, a Dutch fulfillment provider. The deal gives Monta a chance to accelerate its international expansion. On the other hand, it enables DHL to better respond to the needs of SMEs and smaller online stores.

Ecommerce software startup Instant Commerce has raised 5.4 million euros in seed capital. The Amsterdam-based company will use the money to expand in Europe and the United States. Instant Commerce has raised 7.5 million euros to date.

The Dutch National Hotline for Internet Scams is warning consumers about new fake online stores, claiming to sell firewood and wood burning stoves. With energy prices rising all across Europe, the department expects more of these online shopping scams.

In online shops, 16 percent of products are out-of-stock. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands have the best product availability. Google Shopping, Facebook Product Ads and Amazon are the top three advertising channels for ecommerce sellers worldwide.

Even though the population in the Netherlands continues aging, retailers are hardly profiting from it. On the contrary, it will cost Dutch sellers 2 percent in revenue by 2032. Therefore merchants should focus more on the elderly, researchers say.

PostNL, the biggest postal company in the Netherlands, wants to expand its logistics network in Belgium. Before the end of the year, it will open 350 extra pick-up/drop-off (PUDO) points. Currently, PostNL owns 1.000 service locations in Belgium.

In a court case, Dutch marketplace Bol.com was told that its order button does not meet European standards. The marketplace needs to make it clear that customers are entering an obligation of payment. This could have consequences for other online stores.

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’.