Earlier this year, the amount of online stores in the Netherlands decreased for the first time since 2013. Growth now seems to be back on track, according to new figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Nearly three thousand companies were added in six months. Online selling is more popular than ever, especially among self-employed professionals.
The amount of distance sellers in the Netherlands reached an absolute milestone last fall, as the 100,000 mark was surpassed. At the beginning of this year, Statistics Netherlands counted 100,910 companies.
A dip in online stores
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After that, the amount of online stores fell by 370, possibly as a result of sluggish growth in online product spending. In 2024, this rose by 2 percent, but that growth was entirely due to inflation.
Online product spending rebounded this year
The purchasing power of online stores therefore declined last year. In the first quarter of this year, online product spending rebounded, rising by 8 percent according to the Thuiswinkel Market Monitor. Since then, there have been many more new online sellers than those ceasing operations.
18 new stores per day
Right now, there are 103,445 companies registered as online stores in the Netherlands. Between April and October, 2,905 online stores were added, with an average growth of 538 per month in the last quarter. This means that, approximately 18 online stores were added every day. Online entrepreneurship continues to attract entrepreneurs in the Netherlands, which has had more online stores than physical stores for years.
Only 3% of online stores have at least three employees
A striking fact from the data is that 86,980 companies in the category online store have one employee. That is 84 percent of all companies. Another 13,385 companies employ two people, which amounts to 13 percent of the total. Only three percent of companies employ at least three people. This comes down to around 3,103 online stores.
The growth of online stores
The image below shows the growth in the amount of online stores since measurements began in 2007.
Most Dutch online stores sell clothing, according to the data. There are now 24,960 such stores, exactly 1,200 more than six months ago. This represents a growth of more than 5 percent, while the total number of online stores grew by less than 3 percent. According to Statistics Netherlands, there are 22,035 stores with a general assortment in the country. Home and garden items are also popular, with 17,840 online sellers.
