Describes how widely e-Commerce is used, the primary sectors that sell through e-commerce, and how much product/service in each sector is sold through e-commerce versus brick-and-mortar retail. Includes what a company needs to know to take advantage of e-commerce in the local market and, reputable, prominent B2B websites.
Last Published: 8/16/2019

The use of eCommerce websites continues to increase rapidly in the Netherlands.  Approximately 96 percent of Dutch people over the age of 15 bought products or services online in 2018.  Dutch consumers spent $28 billion online, a 10 percent increase from 2017. 
This increase was due to greater availability of products online, increased consumer confidence, and economic growth.  There were approximately 40,000 active eCommerce retailers in the Netherlands in 2018.  Roughly 242 million purchases were made online, accounting for 26 percent of all purchases of goods and services in the Netherland.

In 2018, Bol.com was the first online retailer in the Netherlands to exceed one billion euros in revenues.  The top 10 online retailers in the Netherlands in 2018 were as follows:  Bol.com  ($1.44 billion); Coolblue ($1.04 billion); Zalando ($791 million); Wehkamp ($673 million); Albert Heijn Online ($566 million); The Learning Network ($340 million); Amazon ($271 million); H&M ($259 million); MediaMarkt ($248 million); and de Bijenkorf ($212 million).  

Accounting for more than 50 percent of all transactions, iDeal is the most commonly used payment method in the Netherlands.  iDeal allows consumers to make purchases via direct online transfers from their bank accounts.  All Dutch banks are affiliated with this system.  Credit card, payment slip, and authorization are other payment mechanisms.  Only 12 percent of transactions are paid by credit card.

China, Germany, and the U.K. are the top three eCommerce cross-border spending destinations.  The United States ranks fourth.

A boost in online spending is generally seen in the run-up to the following holidays:  Valentine’s Day (February 14), Mother’s Day (second Sunday in May), Father’s Day (third Sunday in June), Sinterklaas (December 5), and Christmas (December 25).

In 2018, 91 percent of Dutch people over the age of 13 owned a smartphone.  Roughly 24 percent of all online purchases were made using smartphones and tablets.

Social media plays an ever-increasing role in the Netherlands, including in advertising and commerce.  Ninety percent of Dutch people actively use social media.

Delivery price is an important factor for Dutch consumers when deciding whether to make a purchase online.  Different delivery services in the Netherlands offer varying delivery times.  Standard delivery services estimate a shipping time of two to three days for domestic deliveries.  Express delivery services guarantee delivery by a specific date and time, usually with an extra cost.  Several operators provide same-day delivery domestically as well as delivery during agreed time slots during the day.  Faster delivery and specific delivery time slots are increasingly popular with customers.  Customers increasingly expect real-time information during the delivery process.  They also expect low cost or free deliveries and returns.

For a full analysis of the Dutch B2C eCommerce market, please see the Netherlands B2C Ecommerce Report 2017.

The Electronic Commerce Directive (2000/31/EC), mentioned in the Direct Marketing section above (pp. 11-12), provides rules for online services in the EU.  It requires online providers to abide by rules in the country where they are established (country of origin).  Online providers must respect consumer protection rules, such as the inclusion of contact details on their website, clear identification of advertising, and protection against spam.  The Directive also grants exemptions to liability for intermediaries that unknowingly transmit or host illegal content for third parties.

The EU applies Value Added Tax (VAT) when non-EU based companies of Electronically Supplied Services (ESS) sell products to EU-based individuals.  U.S. companies that are covered by the rule must collect and submit VAT to EU tax authorities.  European Council Directive 2002/38/EC further developed the EU rules for charging Value Added Tax.  These rules were indefinitely extended following adoption of Directive 2008/8/EC.

Businesses affected by EU Directive 2002/38 are either U.S.-based businesses selling ESS to non-business EU customers or EU-based businesses selling ESS to customers outside of the EU.  There are many compliance options for businesses.  The Directive creates a special scheme that simplifies registering with each member state and allows companies to register with a single VAT authority of their choice.  Companies must charge different rates of VAT according to where their customers are located, but VAT reports and returns are submitted to just one authority.  The VAT authority responsible for providing the single point of registration service is then responsible for reallocating the collected revenue among the other EU VAT authorities.  For more information, please visit this EC website.

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.


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Netherlands eCommerce Industry Trade Development and Promotion eCommerce