The United Kingdom, Denmark and the Netherlands were the countries in 2010 where online buying was most popular. With 79 percent, the highest proportion of online buyers was recorded in the United Kingdom versus 74 percent for the Netherlands in 2010.

Last year, 9.3 million people bought goods and services over the Internet. The proportion of e-shoppers among Internet users rose from 61 percent in 2006 to 77 percent in 2010. In the European Union (EU), the Netherlands is one of the countries with the highest amount of e-shoppers.

The increase in online purchase orders is manifest across all domains save hardware. Between 2006 and 2010, online buying of trips and clothes increased most by 14 percentage points in the category of frequent e-shoppers. Nearly 6 in every 10 online buyers made travel reservations over the Internet in 2010. Leading the e-commerce growth in the Netherlands is the online travel sector, which comprises travel bookings, hotel accommodations and tour packages.

The sector transport and storage is trendsetter in e-commerce. Companies in this sector realised 22 percent of total sales over the Internet or other electronic networks in 2009. The sector transport and storage also includes airline companies and the bulk of airline ticket reservations are made online.

The percentage of companies realising at least 5 percent of total sales online has grown from 16.5 percent in 2008 to 18.4 percent in 2009. This implies that online selling is becoming increasingly important for the Dutch private sector.

Convenience and flexibility for consumers are the main reasons for the substantial growth in online shopping in recent years. Seven out of ten internet users who bought products online said the main reason for doing so were convenience, saving time and shopping when its suited them. In addition they can buy products which are often not available in the areas where they live. Lower prices and a wider range of products to choose from are also important reasons for people to shop online.

The most frequently mentioned online purchase is holiday accommodation. This is followed by theatre, concert and festival tickets, books and magazines, clothing, and sports items.

Consumers who had bought a product online in the three months preceding the survey had often done this more than once. More than three-quarters of this group said they had bought items via the web between 1 and 6 times. The remaining quarter had done so more than 6 times in the previous three months. Just over four in ten shoppers spent a total of 100 and 500 euro. One in three spent less, and just under a quarter said they spent more. Although more people are shopping online, total turnover in this branch is still relatively low, at just over 4 billion euro.

At the time of the survey, 90 percent of all 12-75 year-olds in the Netherlands had home access to the internet, which means the medium is now firmly entrenched in Dutch society. Eighty-five percent of this group even have a broadband connection. European figures show that the Netherlands leads the field in this respect.

Mobile internet access is also gaining popularity very quickly in the Netherlands. In 2009, three out of ten internet users said they had used a mobile web connection. In 2007 this was only two out of ten. Most people use mobile phones and laptops for mobile internet access.

Source: cbs.nl