Last year, Dutch consumers spent 36 billion euros online. This was an increase of 5 percent, compared to 2023. At the same time, the number of orders fell by 1 percent. For the first time, the majority of international purchases were placed with Chinese platforms.
In 2023, consumers in the Netherlands still spent 34.7 billion euros online. This was a 3 percent increase compared to 2022. Online spending is growing faster again, as shown by the 5 percent increase in 2024.
These data are according to the latest Thuiswinkel Markt Monitor, from Dutch ecommerce association Thuiswinkel.org. The report gives an insight into ecommerce in the Netherlands in 2024.
Number of purchases decreased
While online spending increased, the number of purchases fell 1 percent to 345 million. The amount of online purchases of products even fell by 3 percent. This is while online spending on products increased by 2 percent. It appears that either more products are being purchased per order, or higher-priced products are being purchased.
‘Online spending on services grew 10% last year compared to 2023’
Online spending on services increased the most: by 10 percent, compared to 2023. There was a particularly strong increase in the insurance category. Spending increased by 20 percent and the number of purchases by 16 percent.
12% of spending was spent cross-border
The amount of international online purchases continue to grow. Last year, 55 percent of Dutch consumers placed orders at a foreign online store at least once. However, ordering from Dutch online stores is still more common: 97 percent of Dutch consumers bought something here at least once.
As much as 12 percent of Dutch online spending was spent at cross-border online stores. This amounts to around 4.4 billion euros. The total amount of purchases at foreign stores came to 41 million, which is also 12 percent of the total number of online purchases.
Market share of Chinese online stores increased
The majority of Dutch international orders were placed in China online stores (28 percent). In 2023, the share was still 21 percent. Dutch consumers placed 11.5 million orders at Chinese online stores last year, which together accounted for 434 million euros.
‘Germany is the second most popular country for Dutch consumers, after China’
“Dutch consumers are increasingly finding their way to foreign platforms. Especially Clothing, DIY/Garden and Shoes & Personal Lifestyle from China are showing strong growth. This year, for the first time, we mostly bought from Chinese online stores, when looking at international purchases. Germany is now the second most popular country with 23 percent, while Britain has dropped from 13 percent to 7 percent and lost the third spot to the US”, said Marlene ten Ham, general director at Thuiswinkel.org.
