By Chanel Smith (@PYMNTS_EMEA)
The Dutch are warming up to online shopping, as new research indicates that the market reached €5 billion in the first half of 2013. This figure represents an 8 percent rise in comparison to 2012’s results, reported eCommerce Europe.
The research – conducted by Blauw Research and part of the Thuiswinkle Market Monitor – revealed that consumers are still struggling to recover from the continuing recession and have been reluctant to make purchases. Yet, online sales in the region continue to grow.
Number Of Orders Grew By 10 Percent
According to eCommerce Europe, the most important variable for turnover growth of the online market is the number of orders made by consumers. The report stated that 46 million online orders were made in the first six months of 2013, which is a 10 percent increase from the same period last year. On average, online shoppers submitted five orders per customer in 2013. Additionally, the average shopper spent €109 on every order.
Carlos Mendes Aguiar, director of PostNL Retail and Ecommerce Services, explained, “The growing number of orders is mainly due to online purchasers ordering more frequently. Of course, it is also stimulated by the growth in retailers’ multi-channel activities.”
A little over half of the total online sales growth is due to revenue brought in from consumers purchasing products such as clothes and books. Similar to last year’s results, the turnover for online products (11 percent) is greater than the turnover of online services including vacations, insurance and tickets (6 percent.)
Experienced Shoppers Drive Sales Growth
The number of Dutch consumers who are buying online is quickly rising. The study shows that 8.8 million Dutch shoppers bought a product or service on the Internet in the first half of 2013, compared to the 8.5 million recorded in last year’s study. Moreover, the majority of these online shoppers reported they had made an online purchase before, which signifies that online market growth is largely due to seasonal online consumers. However, results show there are more customers making their first purchase online as online shopping becomes more common across Europe.
What Dutch Consumers Are Buying
The report indicates which sectors are the most popular online: The online clothing market is one of the most prominent with a growth of 14 percent (€ 395 million). Telecommunication sales were also strong and showed a 12 percent increase (€685 million). However, online travel purchases remained the largest segment of the online market, which reported a growth of nearly 5 percent (€2 billion).
For the second year in a row, the toy sector was the fastest growing segment. The study reported that toys had a 24 percent growth (€31 million) since the first half of 2012. Other notable sectors included music (18 percent, €53 million) and computer hardware (17 percent, €370 million).
“The strong growth in computer hardware is particularly noticeable. It can be put down to the increasing supply of mobile devices and competitive prices which tempted a growing number of people to buy a tablet online,” said Wijnand Jongen, director of Thuiswinkel.org. “In fact we expect online purchases via tablets and smartphones (mCommerce) to grow even more, which means opportunities for online retailers. In October, online sales during the first half of 2013 will be published for the first time via mobile devices. We look forward to that.”
Future Growth
Researchers predict that online sales will continue to grow in the latter half of 2013. They reported that mobile shopping (conducted on both tablets and via smartphone) will continue to play a crucial role in driving the market. ECommerce Europe reported that Dutch consumers are connected online more frequently and are staying online for longer periods of time. People are reported to either be browsing or making online purchases, both of which are conducive to the future growth of mobile commerce.
Frank Sibbel, managing partner of Blauw Research, added, “What’s more, both physical and web retailers are continuing to make enormous investments in the online channel and many new initiatives are being realised that make it possible for consumers to switch easily between online and offline channels.”
To read the full report at eCommerce Europe click here.
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