More than eight in ten Dutch people bought online in the first half of this year, a record. Especially for personal care products, medicines and vitamin pills, more consumers went online.
Statistics Netherlands has released a report about the adoption of online shopping. According to them, online shopping is more popular than ever in the Netherlands.
81 percent of the Dutch buy online
In the first six months of this year, about 12.6 million Dutch people aged 12 and older made a purchase online. This amounts to 81 percent of the population in that age group. That is a whopping 17 percentage points more than five years ago; in 2019, only 64 percent of the Dutch bought online.
There are now more online shoppers in the Netherlands than during the COVID-19 pandemic
In the corona years, adoption grew significantly, only to decline thereafter. Last year, the share of online shoppers increased again, a trend that has continued this year.
Especially Dutch people aged 25 to 45 buy online, according to Statistics Netherlands, with a 94 percent share. Adoption in the age group between 65 and 75 has increased the most: from 64 percent in 2023 to 73 percent this year. The group of senior online buyers in our country has thus grown enormously.
Online shoppers by category
The report also looked at purchasing behavior in several categories. First, it is notable that more Dutch people have started buying and booking transportation tickets and vacation accommodations online. Services such as internet subscriptions and computer software have also been purchased digitally more often.
Fewer Dutch people ordered meals or groceries online
Looking at product categories, there is a clear difference in the development between food and non-food: the share of consumers ordering food online has been declining for two years, to 22 percent this year. Ordering meals is also less popular. It now has a share of 40 percent, less than in recent years. In all non-food categories, the share this year has remained at least the same as last year.
With a 59 percent share, versus 57 percent in 2023, clothing and footwear is by far the most popular category online. Converted, 9.2 Dutch people bought clothes and/or shoes in the one-quarter period, more than three hundred thousand more than last year. They are served by 22,985 local online stores, among others, as shown in an earlier report.
Strongest growth rates
Relatively speaking, growth in the amount of online shoppers has been strongest in the personal care category (from 21 to 24 percent) and the medicine and vitamin pills category (from 19 to 21 percent). Online purchasing of sporting goods and cosmetics has also become more prevalent.
