Belgian consumers aren’t afraid of shopping cross-border
Belgian e-commerce top 10 dominated by foreign players. Source: unsplash.com
E-commerce in Belgium is still being dominated by foreign online retailers, according to Ecommerce News. Last year, the biggest online turnover was achieved by Dutch e-commerce giant Bol.com, followed by Coolblue (also from the Netherlands) and Amazon France. In the top 10, there are only two Belgian players.
The top 10 of the biggest e-commerce companies in Belgium comes from the Ecommerce Foundation, which compared the revenue of online retailers in 2018. Last year, just like in the Netherlands, Bol.com was the biggest player. In Belgium, the Ahold-owned company achieved sales worth 386 million euros. The company is followed by omnichannel retailer Coolblue, that had a turnover of 322 million euros in Belgium.
Top 10 of online retailers in Belgium. Source: Ecommerce Foundation (via Gondola)
In Belgium, and also in the Netherlands by the way, the e-commerce industry still isn’t being dominated by Amazon as much as in other Western European countries. But still, the US company’s influence can be felt. In the Belgian e-commerce top 10, Amazon France ended on the third place, while Amazon.com ranks sixth and Amazon Germany can be found in the ninth place.
The research also shows that Belgian consumers aren’t afraid of shopping cross-border. Most online shoppers (58%) buy products online in Belgium and abroad. Only 28% only shops at domestic e-commerce websites, while 16% actually only shops abroad.
And when Belgians shop abroad, they mostly do at online stores in the Netherlands (34%). Other popular shopping destinations are China (16%), Germany (15%) and the United Kingdom (10%).
The trend in e-commerce seems to be to have parcels sent to customers in record time, but the Belgian consumer still seems quite patient. Although 21% expects to receive a parcel on the next day or the day after, 58% is happy to receive a parcel within three to five days. And for one in eight consumers delivery might even take up six days.
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