Ede, 24 September 2024 – In the first half of 2024, online retail spending by Dutch consumers reached €17.5 billion, marking a 6% increase compared to the same period last year. Dutch consumers now spend almost a third of their total retail expenditure online. However, the number of online purchases in the first half of the year fell by 2% to 173 million. These insights are drawn from the latest figures of the Thuiswinkel Market Monitor, a study on online consumer spending in the Netherlands. The research is conducted by GfK on behalf of Thuiswinkel.org and Retail Insiders, in collaboration with PostNL and the Dutch Payments Association (“Betaalvereniging Nederland”).
Growth in online spending driven by services, while product purchases decline
Online purchases of services continue to grow steadily. In the first half of 2024, spending on services increased by 13% compared to the same period last year. This is largely due to the rise in online insurance purchases (+27%), especially for health and general liability insurance.
Additionally, there has been notable growth in the category of tickets for Attractions & Events. Online spending on tickets in France rose by 20%, with a 58% increase in the number of online purchases, likely linked to the upcoming Olympic Games.
On the other hand, the number of online product purchases fell by 4%, although spending on products showed a modest increase (+1%). The decline in the number of purchases is mainly attributed to decreases in the Shoes & Personal Lifestyle and Food/Near Food categories, both of which dropped by 11%.
Share of online spending varies by category
The overall share of online spending and purchases (compared to physical retail) has remained steady. Marlene ten Ham, General Director of Thuiswinkel.org, explains: “Since the pandemic, Dutch consumers have become accustomed to online shopping, but preferences differ by category. Consumers tend to buy services online more frequently, while the percentage is lower for products. The online share for products is heavily influenced by the Food/Near Food category (e.g., supermarkets), where only 8% of spending takes place online. This brings down the overall average. Excluding Food/Near Food, consumers spend 37% of their total retail expenditure on products online.”
Cross-border purchases on the rise
Cross-border online spending increased by 16% in the first half of 2024, reaching €2.3 billion compared to the same period in 2023. The number of cross-border purchases rose by 6% to 20.3 million. Dutch consumers predominantly shop at Chinese webshops, where 6 million purchases were made in the first half of 2024. The average spend per purchase in China is €41, significantly lower than in the Netherlands (€101) or other countries such as Germany (€110). Marlene ten Ham notes, “We’ve observed a continuous rise in online purchases and spending at Chinese webshops by Dutch consumers. This growth is accelerating, with a 16% increase in online purchases in the first half of 2023 (compared to HY1 2022) and a staggering 68% rise in the first half of 2024 (compared to HY1 2023). Purchases in the DIY & Garden, Clothing, and Home & Living categories are particularly popular at Chinese webshops.”
Increased smartphone use for larger purchases, iDEAL usage continues to grow
While the growth in the number of online purchases made via smartphones appears to be stabilising, the share of spending via smartphones has increased from 25% to 28%. This indicates that consumers are making larger purchases on their smartphones. Categories such as Clothing, Telecom, and Insurance have seen a notable rise in smartphone-based spending. Meanwhile, the number of purchases made using iDEAL has increased slightly, primarily at the expense of credit card transactions.
