Earlier, we made some posts about cross-border sales in Europe and North America. Usually, the sales are significantly growing. However, it isn’t the case for the Netherlands. According to the data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the growth of Dutch cross-border purchases slows down.
According to the stats, the Dutch customers have been ordering cross-border more and more every year since 2014. The quarterly growth increased sharply in 2020, reaching 38% more than the year before due to the pandemic. In the first three months of 2021, the growth rate reached 64%. As for the second quarter of 2021 - the growth speed decreased and gained only about 17% compared to the previous year. The rate is comparable with the pre-pandemic levels.
The online stores within the country also show a slower growth rate. The Dutch online retailers sold about 16% more in the second quarter of 2021, compared to the previous year. And again, the growth speed is much lower compared to the online sales spike caused by pandemics. For example, the first quarter of 2021 shows an incredible growth of about 85%. The numbers consider both the customers from the Netherlands and other countries who make orders in the Netherlands.
Despite the significant growth of online sales, the overall effect caused on total Dutch retail turnover is less noticeable. Internet sales do not play a significant role in the retail market. For example, in 2019, they contributed less than 2% to the total turnover within the Netherlands.
