The Dutch online shopping cart
Online shopping is done the most in the age group of 25 to 44 years old, with over 94 percent of consumers stating that they bought goods on the internet. Men commonly shop online more than women, with an almost five-percentage-point difference. However, the gender gap in online shopping is slowly closing. As of 2022, Dutch women shop more than ever, at a rate of more than 85 percent. For both genders, the most popular products to purchase online include clothing, shoes, and accessories. Fast-growing product segments, in turn, include tickets, attractions, events, and travel packages — all comeback sectors in the post-COVID-19 recovery.Domestic or cross-border?
The online retail industry in the Netherlands is largely dominated by domestic companies. The biggest online stores in the Netherlands include local players like online hypermarket Bol.com, electronics retailer Coolblue, and the supermarket Albert Heijn. With a significantly lower share of visits than other Dutch e-commerce sites, e-commerce giant Amazon is still among the most popular platforms, but a staggering 96 percent of Dutch consumers purchase on national sites compared to only 40 percent on foreign websites.Still, the quarterly cross-border spending amounts to one billion euros. Cross-border web shops from the United States and Germany top the list of foreign shops by net sales. Furthermore, estimated cross-border spending intentions of Dutch consumers indicate that media and entertainment will continue to be the most popular category to buy from abroad in the next few years.