The Netherlands rank first on UN’s ecommerce index

The Netherlands are the new number one on the annual B2C E-commerce Index from UN conference UNCTAD. The Dutch have surpassed Luxembourg, which now finds itself on a 19^th position. The top three is completed by Singapore and Switzerland.

The B2C E-commer Index [pdf] measures an economy’s preparedness to support online shopping. This year, the index covers 151 countries, seven more than in the previous edition. The countries are ranked based on several indicators, such as postal reliability, individuals using the internet and the amount of secure internet servers.

8 European countries in top 10

Last year, it was Luxembourg that led the way, but the Western European country is now 19^th, due to a decrease in the country’s postal reliability. The Netherlands, which ended fourth last year and ranked second during the first index in 2015, is now the new number one. In total, the top ten of the index consists of eight European countries.

40,000 pure play online retailers in the Netherlands

The Netherlands perform well with most indicators, particularly secure servers where it’s top ranked. “Secure servers is used as a proxy for ecommerce shops, and the Netherlands had over 40,000 pure play online retailers in 2016, the highest figure in the European Union”, the study shows. The Netherlands also have the second highest proportion of online shoppers in the world, namely 76 percent of the population aged 15 and older.