Number of orders grows
In total, Dutch people spent 10.6 billion euro online in 2013, a growth of 8.5 % that was mainly because of a growing number of orders. Nearly a 100 million orders were made, 11 % more than the year before. “Online purchases are becoming a habit for consumers”, Ed Nijpels, president of Thuiswinkel.org, has said.
There were 9 orders per person on average in 2013, one order more than in 2012. “An online order used to be considered remarkable, but online orders have become ‘normal’ nowadays. Online orders, even for small prices, are on the increase”, says Frank Sibbel, managing partner with research firm Blauw Research. The average spend dropped 2 euros, to 109 in 2013.
Mobile pushes growth
10.8 million Dutch people bought something online, a 2 % growth that is increasingly slower. It is mostly the experienced shoppers who buy online.
The toys branch experienced the largest growth in online sales, with a total turnover of 105 million euro (+ 27 %), while music (123 million euro, + 19 %), telecom (1.5 billion euro, + 16 %) and clothing (850 million euro, + 16 %) also grew strongly.
Even more growth is expected in 2014, mainly because of mobile shopping as the more than 2 million Dutch people who buy through their mobile or tablet nowadays, will be joined by an even larger number of people. A 9 to 10 % growth, reaching nearly 12 billion euro, is expected for 2014.
