The Dutch potential of becoming one of global ecommerce leaders unveiled
Ecommerce Europe, the association of European online retailers, reports the Western European b2c online commerce economy to have reached €160.8 billion in 2012, marking a 16% growth from 2011.The Dutch ecommerce market value was assessed at €4.6 billion, marking less than 9% growth from 2011. As such, the Dutch online retail economy was considered to be the slowest one in Western Europe last year.
In Q1 2013, the Netherlands has demonstrated an 8% increase in online sales, with the turnover growing to $5 billion (Source: eCommerce News). The number of individual orders placed across different online commerce outlets has increased by 10% and totaled 46 million (Source: eCommerce Facts). On the other hand, in its Ecommerce Readiness Report 2013 market analyst company Forrester has ranked the Netherlands #7 in its List of Top 10 Countries with the potential to become world’s strongest ecommerce economies. To determine ecommerce growth potential, Forrester analyzed such factors as the number of debit / credit cards per capita, retail market intensity and activity, population’s digital literacy and tech savviness, and others (Source: Brainsins).
With its population of 16.8 million people, the country boasts a 94% Internet penetration rate, which makes it Europe’s most Internet advanced nation after Iceland. Over 80% of the Dutch population aged 16 to 74 uses Internet every day, both at home and while out. According to Statistics Netherlands, 8 out of 10 Internet users shop online.
Analysts say Holland is very likely to see a double-digit growth of its ecommerce market by the end of 2013, which should be a good stimulus for Dutch companies that have not yet developed and put in place an effective ecommerce development strategy. Research of frequent online purchasing behaviors in the Netherlands suggests that Top 5 categories are:
- Travel, holidays and accommodation (e.g. online tickets, hotels/restaurant bookings)
- Clothes
- Events (e.g., tickets for concerts, festivals, shows and conferences / trade fairs)
- Books and magazines
- Software
Lottery tickets are the most unpopular category as far as online purchasing is concerned (Source: Statistics Netherlands). However, the Netherlands is in the process of regulating its online gambling market by 2015 and, thus, demand for ecommerce solutions within the gambling industry is expected to skyrocket in the following months.
Now let’s see what is going to be hot on the global ecommerce scene in 2014 and what Dutch businesses should consider for their ecommerce development:
- Commoditization of web stores
Online shopping platforms like Shopify will reduce entry barriers for many retailers looking out to create inexpensive online shop solutions. With just a couple of skilled software developers in IT team, any small company or startup will be able to create feature-rich and user friendly web stores.
- Individual customization
Innovative marketing intelligence and real-time data management platforms will allow online retailers to tailor unique features, special offers and daily deals to each particular customer depending on geolocation, purchasing habits, shopping time and frequency, etc.
- Continuous use of PHP-enabled CMS systems and platforms for ecommerce solutions.
Open source PHP development on Magento, WordPress or Joomla will remain the key enablers of ecommerce technology in the near future, so to create truly disruptive online commerce solutions, a strong PHP expertise and access to the skilled PHP developers will be needed.
