Introduction to the Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy in Western Europe. It has a population of 17 million people and its capital is Amsterdam. The official language is Dutch and widely spoken foreign languages are English, French, and German. The Netherlands has a GDP of €697.2 billion, which represents a GDP per capita of €41,062 in 2017.
- 17 million people
- GDP of €697.2 billion
- 6% unemployed
- Inflation of 0.3%
Ecommerce in the Netherlands
In 2017, the Dutch B2C ecommerce turnover grew by 20% to €24.2 billion. The Netherlands had an online population of 16.1 million of people who were aged 15 and older. Of the total online population, 12.9 million bought something online in 2015. The average spending per eShopper was €1,242 in this year.
| B2C Ecommerce Turnover | €24.2 billion |
| B2C Ecommerce growth | 20% |
| Online population | 16.1 million |
| Number of eShoppers | 12.9 million |
| VAT rate | 21% |
| Most popular payment method | iDeal |
Tips for ecommerce in the Netherlands
You are advised to apply for the “Thuiswinkel Waarborg” trustmark. This is recognized by 90% of Dutch consumers as a sign of trustworthiness
Make sure you are well organized and honest about your delivery options and times. Dutch online shops are among the leaders internationally when it comes to cut-off times
Dutch consumers can be considered price-sensitive. Small price differences may quickly lead them to buy elsewhere
You should definitely offer iDEAL as one of your payment option, as it is very popular in the Netherlands. As a matter of fact, it is preferred by 56% of Dutch shoppers.
Dutch consumers do not like to be charged delivery costs as many companies are already able to send parcels for free. If your business model allows for free delivery, you should definitely consider it.
Dutch consumers would like to see hassle free return procedures, if the retailer has a physical store than it should be possible to return a product there.
The Dutch tend to favour good-quality products. Consequently, they are more willing to splurge on expensive products when they percieve the product's value is equal to its quality. The Dutch consumer does not have a bias for purchasing domestic products over their foreign counterparts. Moreover, good advertising campaigns have been popular among the Dutch consumer and highly effective on product sales.
If the threshold is not exceeded, but the applicable VAT-rate of the country of arrival is lower than the VAT-rate of the country where the transport begins, the supplier could nevertheless opt to account for VAT of the country of arrival. Please note that this is only possible when certain conditions have been fulfilled.
Before trading in The Netherlands, we recommend visiting the Q&A Online Taxes and VAT in The Netherlands page.
Webinar - Zooming in on Ecommerce, The Netherlands
The Dutch Ecommerce Association, Thuiswinkel.org
Thuiswinkel.org is the Dutch branch association for businesses that sell products and services to consumers (B2C) via the internet, catalogues and/or the post. The association shares e-commerce knowledge and promotes the interests of its members both nationally and internationally. In addition, Thuiswinkel.org has a national online shopping trustmark and devotes itself to the interests of the consumers that purchase from its members.
