Koen van Gelder
Team Lead E-commerce
Mobile commerce in the Netherlands and Belgium - statistics & facts
Shopping has become mobile-first. The age of desktop e-commerce, single-channel retail, and physical vouchers is slowly coming to an end, and the Netherlands and Belgium are at the frontlines of this digital revolution. In the Netherlands, nearly three-quarters of all retail website traffic already comes from mobile devices – for Belgium, this share is similar at 72 percent of traffic. This is no wonder given the high amount of mobile internet users in both countries: nearly 16 million in the Netherlands, compared to 10.8 million in Belgium. With population figures of 17.7 and 11.7 million inhabitants, respectively, this points to a very high mobile penetration rate in both countries.
Mobile shoppers are young and indecisive
Smartphone e-commerce is the way to shop for new generations of consumers. In both Benelux countries, the majority of mobile online shoppers are less than 34 years old, thus belonging to the Gen Z and Millennial generations. In Belgium, the age group split is especially disparate: over 40 percent of mobile shoppers are between 18 and 24 years old. Whereas mobile shopping is popular with consumers, their purchasing behavior does not make things any easier for online retailers. The cart abandonment rate for users on smartphones and tablets is far higher than that of desktop users in both countries. In the Netherlands, 78 percent of baskets are abandoned by mobile shoppers; for Belgians, this is even higher at 82 percent. Even when consumers want to finalize their online orders, problems can arise: they need retailers to offer their preferred online payment method. As a result, many Benelux retailers are working hard at expanding their payment providers portfolio.Applications are key in mobile shopping
Mobile apps make online shopping highly convenient, and there is one country in which e-commerce players understand this better than anyone else. In 2023, Chinese shopping platforms have made huge inroads in the Dutch and Belgian e-commerce markets. In the Netherlands and Belgium, the Chinese app Temu was the most downloaded shopping app on Android and Apple devices by a huge margin. The runner-up in both countries is the fast fashion sensation SHEIN. Both apps managed to generate millions of downloads in both nations.
