Online spending to €36 billion by 2024

Online spending by Dutch consumers higher than ever; spending and purchases rose faster at foreign than at Dutch webshops

Dutch consumers spent €36 billion online in 2024, a growth of 5% compared to 2023. The number of online purchases fell by 1% to 345 million. 12% of online spending and purchases went to foreign webshops, accounting for €4.4 billion ( 12%) and 41 million purchases ( 4%). 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 NielsenIQ GfK on behalf of Thuiswinkel.org and Retail Insiders and in cooperation with PostNL and the Dutch Payments Association.

Online spending on services grew strongest

Online spending on services grew 10% in 2024 compared to 2023. Within this category, insurance stands out in particular, where online spending increased by 20% and the number of online purchases rose by 16%.

Marlene ten Ham, Managing Director at Thuiswinkel.org, says: “We see a growth in the number of non-life insurance policies taken out, such as bike insurance, which are often arranged directly in the bike shop. In addition, many consumers switched health insurance last year, further driving online spending and purchases within this category. The proportion of insurance taken out by consumers online did decrease, as insurance is more often taken out through an employer.”

Tickets for Attractions and Events also experienced growth in online spending ( 15%) and number of online purchases ( 8%). The first quarter of 2024 in particular saw a spike in online sales of festival tickets and tickets for concerts and theme parks.

Recovery of online product spending; product purchases declined

After two years of decline, online product spending showed a 2% increase again. Mainly spending on Telecom grew ( 12%), due to a higher average purchase amount, e.g. for smartphones.

Online purchases of products fell by 3%. Food/Nearfood, for example, was ordered less often (-6%), but for a higher amount per purchase. This may indicate that more products are bought per order or that more expensive products are purchased (possibly due to inflation). This also applies to DIY/Garden, where the number of purchases fell (-11%) but spending increased ( 9%).

More than half of the Dutch bought from foreign webshops

Online cross-border purchases continue to increase. In 2024, 55% of Dutch consumers will have made at least one purchase from a foreign webshop. By comparison, 97% of Dutch people made at least one purchase at a Dutch webshop last year.

Of the €36 billion Dutch consumers will have spent online in 2024, €4.4 billion (12%) will have been spent at cross-border webshops. This corresponds to 41 million cross-border online purchases, which is also 12% of the total 345 million purchases.

Dutch consumers made most online cross-border purchases in China (28% vs 21% in 2023 and 18% in 2022). In 2024, 11.5 million purchases were made from Chinese online shops, accounting for €434 million.

Ten Ham: “Dutch consumers are increasingly finding their way to foreign platforms. Especially Clothing, DIY/Garden and Shoes & Personal Lifestyle from China are showing strong growth. Last year, for the first time, we bought the most from Chinese webshops when looking at international purchases. Germany was the second most popular country with 23%, while Britain dropped from 13% to 7% and lost the third spot to the US.”

Use of iDEAL increased

The use of iDEAL increased slightly. Its share in total purchases increased from 71% in 2023 to 72% in 2024. The share of direct debit authorisations increased slightly – partly due to the strong growth of insurance taken out online: from 4% in 2023 to 5% in 2024.

For cross-border purchases, iDEAL grew more strongly: from 50% to 53%. Klarna also gained ground in international purchases, rising from 7% to 9%. The use of credit cards actually fell here, from 25% to 22%.

Looking to the future

“The Dutch retail market, both online and physical, faces a dynamic year,” said ten Ham. “Based on forecasts by NielsenIQ GfK, we expect a growth of the share of online purchases compared to purchases in physical shops. In addition, we see the shift from spending on products to services. Whereas in 2020, 75% of online spending was on products, it is now 60%.”

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.