People in the Netherlands buying less online, but ordering more from foreign webshops

People in the Netherlands made less purchases from online stores last year. However, they did order more items from foreign web shops. Orders for clothing, shoes and DIY tools from China were particularly high, making that country the most popular supplier of online orders for the first time, at the expense of Germany. This was reported by Thuiswinkel.org based on a study commissioned by NielsenIQ GfK.

There was a one percent decrease in online orders compared to a year ago (345 million), but this is offset by an increase of five percent regarding money paid, which amounted to a fee of 36 billion euros. The number of orders from webshops grew by one percent in 2023 compared to the previous year.

"We are seeing growth in the number of non-life insurance policies taken out, such as bicycle insurance, which is often arranged directly in the bicycle shop. In addition, many consumers have switched to another health insurance policy in the past year, which has further boosted online spending and purchases within this category," Thuiswinkel director Marlene ten Ham explained in a press release. An increase could also be seen in tickets for attractions and events being purchased online.

The reduction in online orders amounted to around seven million products (minus 3 percent). Notable reductions came in food (minus six percent) and DIY and garden products (minus 11 percent).

However, the purchases that were made were often at higher costs. "This may indicate that more products are being purchased per order, or products are being purchased at a higher price (possibly due to inflation)," Thuiswinkel wrote.

The number of purchases from foreign webshops grew by four percent, to a total of 41 million. This is 12 percent of the total orders in the country.

“The Dutch retail market is set for a dynamic year, this concerns online and physical stores. We are expecting a growth in the share of online orders compared to purchases in a physical store. In addition, we are seeing a shift from spending on products to services. In 2020, 75 percent of online spending was on products, that is now 60 percent," said Ten Ham.