Online spending by Dutch consumers in China almost doubled in the first quarter of 2024

Dutch consumers spent over €9 billion online in Q1 2024, up 3% on Q1 2023. The number of online purchases decreased by 3% to over 85 million. However, more purchases were made at foreign webshops; both the number of purchases and spending cross-border increased. This is according to the latest figures from the Thuiswinkel Markt Monitor, the research into online consumer purchases in the Netherlands. The research is conducted by GfK, commissioned by Thuiswinkel.org and Retail Insiders and in cooperation with PostNL and the Dutch Payments Association.

Large differences between products and services

Services are growing in both online spending ( 10%) and online purchases ( 15%) (see Figure 1). Notable in Q1 2024 is that mainly spending on Insurance is increasing ( 34% vs Q1 2023). Spending on Tickets for Attractions and Events is also increasing ( 23%) while spending on travel is actually growing less rapidly than before ( 0.3%).

Online spending in China in first quarter already at one-third of whole 2023

The share of cross-border shoppers is increasing over the past few years: in 2022, one in four online shoppers still bought something across the border, now it is one in three. Online spending in China is rising sharply over the past year, from €58 million in Q1 2023 to €102 million in Q1 2024 (see Figure 2). This increase is mainly due to higher spending on products in the Clothing, Home & Living and Shoes and Personal Lifestyle categories. Dutch consumers ordering from China are more often than average women and more often have families with young children.

Marlene ten Ham, Managing Director of Thuiswinkel.org, says: “Looking at the past few years, we see a particularly strong increase in online spending on, and purchases of, products in China. We are committed to ensuring a level playing field, because unfortunately this is not always going well now. We see a number of companies failing to comply with key legislation on unfair trade practices, customs rules, sustainability, privacy and product safety. Partly because of this, these companies are able to keep their prices lower, which in turn makes it more attractive for consumers to buy there.”

Smartphone usage stabilises, iDEAL continues to grow

Half of online purchases are made using a laptop or desktop. After several years of growth, the share of purchases made with a smartphone is stabilising: 35% in both Q1 2023 and Q1 2024. The share of spending done with a smartphone did increase in Q1 2024, from 24% to 27%.

With iDEAL, most online spending is done, 61% of online spending is done via iDEAL. That is two percentage points higher than last year in Q1. Also cross-border, the share of spending via iDEAL increases (from 41% to 45%). The share of credit card spending cross-border decreases sharply (from 41% to 31%), and Klarna increases sharply (from 3% to 8%).

Consumers expect to spend more online in coming years, including in China
In Q1 2024, 31% of all consumer spending was spent online. Judging by consumer expectations, this percentage will increase to 38% in the coming years (see Figure 3). This is according to the Home Shopping Future Monitor, also released today. More than half of consumers say they will order at least as much, or even more, from Chinese online shops. Consumers also expect to use their smartphones more when shopping online. Marlene ten Ham: “That consumers expect to spend more online is no surprise. The online market is growing, both in terms of the number of providers and the range of products on offer. Consumers now mainly order online because it is convenient, saves time and there is a wide range available. The future will, however, demand from both consumers and entrepreneurs that we become more conscious about consuming, but also look differently at design, production, (re)use and lifespan and products.”