A 32% increase! Dutch consumers spend 2.6 billion euros on online stores in 2020

According to foreign media reports, the Netherlands Statistics Bureau pointed out based on current research reports that in 2020, Dutch consumers spent a record amount of nearly 2.6 billion euros on foreign online stores within the European Union , which is more than 600 million more than in 2019, an increase of nearly 32%.

In 2014, the Dutch spent just under 700 million euros in European online shops outside the Netherlands, which has almost tripled in seven years . Purchases grew strongly compared to the same period in 2019, especially in the last three quarters of 2020, when they increased by 30% to 38%.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis, the consumption habits of Dutch consumers have gradually changed. Online shopping has gradually become the main way for Dutch consumers to shop during the epidemic, and online business has grown prosperously. As a result, the turnover of Dutch Internet sellers has also increased significantly , which of course also includes sales to Dutch and foreign consumers.

In 2015, growth in Dutch sellers ’ turnover peaked at 22.1% compared to the previous year, while in 2020, online turnover increased by more than 40% , breaking previous records.

Data shows that although the number of goods purchased by Dutch people from European online stores has increased dramatically over the years, the impact on consumer spending has been limited , and consumer spending has actually grown more slowly.

This is because these purchases only account for a small part of all Dutch consumer spending . In 2018, consumer spending on online goods accounted for less than 2% of total Dutch retail turnover . In 2020, the total turnover of the Dutch retail industry (store , internet and marketplace turnover) increased by 6% compared to 2019. From this , we can see that the growth is still relatively slow.

The study concerns online purchases made by Dutch consumers from companies located outside the Netherlands. The figures exclude VAT and are calculated based on the Internet Economy methodology developed by Statistics Netherlands' research programme , so these are preliminary figures.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, Internet sales in the Netherlands have increased dramatically, and its online sales have increased sharply. Online sales in the second quarter of 2020 increased by 55% year-on-year compared with 2019, and in the third quarter increased by 38% year-on-year. The fourth quarter saw the strongest growth, with online revenue increasing by 55.6% year-on-year.

Since 2020, e-commerce in the Netherlands has been developing at a very fast pace and will achieve greater development this year, and consumers' preference for online shopping will continue.

Netherlands

Consumer spending

Online Store