Online retail spending by Dutch consumers grew to €17.5 billion in first half year

In the first half of 2024, online retail spending by Dutch consumers reached €17.5 billion, 6% more than in the same period last year. In total, Dutch consumers spend almost 1/3rd of all their retail spending online. The number of online purchases in the first half year actually decreases by 2% to 173 million. This is according to the latest figures from the Thuiswinkel Markt Monitor, the research into online consumer spending in the Netherlands. This research is conducted by GfK on behalf of Thuiswinkel.org and Retail Insiders and in cooperation with PostNL and the Dutch Payments Association.

Growth in online spending mainly due to increase in services, decrease in online purchases due to decrease in products

The online purchase of services continues to grow steadily. Online spending on services increased by 13% in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year. This is mainly due to rising spending on insurance purchased online ( 27%), especially health and non-life insurance.

In addition, the growth in tickets for Attractions & Events stands out. Online spending on tickets in France rose 20%, and the number of online purchases increased 58%, which is probably related to the Olympics.

The number of online purchases of products fell 4%, while online spending on products again showed a tentative increase ( 1%). The drop in online purchases is mainly caused by a decline in the Shoes & Personal Lifestyle and Food/Near Food categories, both of which fell by 11%.

Share online on total retail spending varies by category

The online share of total spending and purchases (compared to physical) remains the same. Marlene ten Ham, Managing Director of Thuiswinkel.org, says: “Since the corona pandemic, we see that Dutch consumers have become accustomed to online shopping, but it differs per category whether they prefer to buy online or go to physical shops. Mainly services are purchased online, with products the percentage is lower. However, the online share for products is strongly influenced by the Food/Nearfood category (including supermarkets): only 8% of spending on Food/Nearfood takes place online. This brings down the average percentage. Excluding Food/Nearfood, consumers spend 37% of their retail spending on products online.”

Cross-border purchases growing

Online cross-border spending increased by 16% in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 to €2.3 billion. The number of online cross-border purchases increased by 6% to 20.3 million. Outside the Netherlands, online shopping is mainly done at Chinese online shops: 6 million purchases were made there in the first half of 2024. An average of €41 is spent per purchase in China. That is a lot less than for purchases in the Netherlands (€ 101) or in other countries (e.g. Germany: € 110). Marlene ten Ham: “We have seen an increase in online purchases and spending at Chinese webshops by Dutch consumers for some time now. This growth is also accelerating, from 16% more online purchases in the first half of 2023 (compared to HY1 2022), to 68% more purchases in the first half of 2024 (compared to HY1 2023). Purchases in the DIY & Garden, Clothing and Home & Living categories are especially popular with Chinese online shops.”

Smartphone used more often for higher purchase amounts, iDEAL continues to grow

The increase in the number of online purchases using smartphones seems to be levelling off. However, the share of online spending via smartphones is increasing: from 25% to 28%. This means that consumers are paying off higher purchase amounts via their smartphones. Especially for Clothing, Telecom and Insurance, the share of spending via smartphone has grown. The number of purchases with iDEAL rises slightly, especially at the expense of credit cards.

Want to read more about developments in e-commerce or delve deeper into the data? Members of Betaalvereniging Nederland get the report and access to the dashboard via their InfoNet account. To do so, go to Login – InfoNet (betaalvereniging.nl). The report can be downloaded via the ‘Explanation dashboard’ page. Please note that access to this dashboard requires logging in with an Infonet account and corresponding password.