These are the most important online marketplaces for selling to the NETHERLANDS!
The Dutch e-commerce market is one of the most developed and lucrative markets in Europe. So it’s definitely worth taking a look at the Marketplace Country Quadrant Netherlands.
The Market
The Netherlands has a population of around 17 million, with an average household net income of €26,211. The VAT rate is 21 percent. In 2023, e-commerce sales totaled 20 billion Euro, an increase of five percent over the previous year. In 2024, it is expected to grow by eight percent. Although the market is relatively small, it is highly exciting: the proportion of online buyers in the total population is a whopping 95 percent. The strongest e-commerce categories are electronics, fashion and – also a special feature – food. The top 5 online stores are bol, Coolblue, Albert Heijn, Amazon and Jumbo.
Online marketplaces account for a market share of around 60 percent, but exact figures are not available. About three out of ten online users visit Amazon at least once a month. At 30 percent, Amazon penetration in the Netherlands is at a significantly lower level than in other countries. In Germany, for example, Amazon has a penetration rate of more than 80 percent.
Flat and broad marketplace landscape
Due to its relatively small size, the country has long been overlooked by the major international e-commerce players. This has led to the emergence of a vibrant and diverse local e-commerce ecosystem consisting of online stores, marketplaces and service providers. Interestingly, the Dutch marketplace landscape is rather flat and broad. It lacks the clear pioneer that exists in other markets.
Two local marketplaces among the top 5 generalists
The Netherlands is therefore a market with particularly strong local heroes – which can be seen above all in our generalist box:
Here we present the local players bol.com and Vakantie Veilingen and, of course, Marktplaats.nl, which is a C2C platform that also boasts a respectable number of professional sellers. Amazon.nl and Aliexpress are the only international players to make it into the top 5.
Bol.com is still the market leader, but the platform only accounts for 12% of Dutch e-commerce sales. By comparison, Amazon, for example, has a market share of over 50 percent in Germany. And speaking of the elephant in the room: Amazon only entered the Dutch market in 2020. And although it got off to a relatively good start, the local players are holding up very well.
Strong local players in the 6 categories
Looking at the relevant players in the individual categories in the Marketplace Country Quadrant Netherlands, there is still much to be said for strong local players:
- In the fashion sector , Zalando may dominate the scene, but we also see strong local heroes Wehkamp and wefashion.
- MediaMarkt is strong in the electronics sector, and refurbed is a strong refurbished player. The local hero here is Productpine.
- The Home & Living segment is completely dominated by local platforms such as LeenBakker, fonQ and Blokker. However, Wehkamp is also a strong competitor, especially for home accessories.
- The DIY & Garden segment is dominated by the marketplaces of retail chains Brico and Obelink. LeenBakker is a good address for garden products.
- In the Beauty & Care segment, the Dutch drugstore chain Kruidvat takes the lead ahead of Zalando and Wehkamp.
- In the sports sector, international players Decathlon and Zalando are represented, but the Dutch company Alltricks has also made it into the selection.
The Changes
There was only one change compared to the previous version: in the fashion category, we replaced Wefashion with About You.