Online shopping in Belgium up 15% in 2014

Online trade in Belgium increased by 15% in 2014, to a total turnover of €5.62 billion, good for a market share of 6.44% of the total trade turnover, reports Comeos, the Belgian Federation of Trade and Services.

The number of online transactions in Belgium last year increased by 16%, to a total of 3.5 billion. Of all of the purchases made online, 4.3% went to retailers in the Netherlands and 12.5% to France.

Despite the addition of about 105 new web shops every day in the country, Comeos points out the increasing competition from online stores outside of Belgium. The study shows that 18.5% of Belgians knowingly make an online purchase from a Dutch merchant.

According to Comeos, labour costs in the Netherlands are 20% lower than in Belgium, which translates to lower prices. In total, Belgian online retailers missed out on a potential of €2.4 billion because Belgian residents made their purchases from foreign web shops. The organisation is therefore calling for a decrease in the labour costs in Belgium to reverse this trend.