Market Trends of Belgium E-commerce Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the Belgium E-commerce Market according to our research experts:
Increase in Internet Penetration Across the Country is Fueling the Growth of the Market.
- With the increase in internet usage across the country, the penetration of online retailing is growing. According to the world bank, internet users in Belgium accounted for 91.5%, 90.3%, and 88.6% of the country's population for 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively.
- The availability and affordability of high levels of broadband and cable access for high-speed internet are aiding the growth of digital penetration, thus, driving the e-commerce market in the country. According to a survey by Eurostat, the share of households with broadband access in Belgium accounted for 91% in 2020, which increased by 3% compared to 2019.
- Further, the consumer's adoption of digital payments for products and services is increasing with digitalization. Payment methods such as meal tickets, eco-checks, Google Pay, and buy-now-pay-later services have increased adoption rates.
- Customers are nowadays becoming smarter and buying products after conducting extensive online research. They compare prices across online and offline stores, and if some brands provide touchpoints offline and online, customers can look for coupons and shop wherever they find them suitable.
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Fashion to lead E-Commerce market in Belgium
- With media exposure, growing awareness, and an increasing share of disposable income, the consumers in the country are looking forward to getting access to global fashion brands and their products.
- Factors including the pandemic lockdown in the region have increased E-commerce's adoption of fashion in the country. Due to the mandatory closure of stores in the country, the adoption of E-commerce has increased, and further, with measures scaled back, online sales still are considerably high.
- Moreover, fewer digital barriers to entering the Fashion E-Retail business mean that merchants in the country have a significant opportunity to market, sell, and fulfill orders from across the country.
- Further, in Belgium, second-hand buyers of fashion have increased. The Second-hand buyers in the country tend to be young and female. This has fueled the fashion e-commerce market in the region, and most of these transactions are done between the individual customer and seller using platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and 2dehands.be E-bay and many more.
- Also, the final consumption expenditure of households on clothing across the country witnessed an increase till 2019. For instance, according to the OECD, the final consumption expenditure of households on clothing stood at EUR 9,003.3 million in 2019, up from EUR 8,424 million in 2015. However, due to the pandemic outbreak, the expenditure was reduced to EUR 7,290.3 million in 2020. However, the industry is expected to recover, leading to a rise in such spending, consequently supporting the regional market growth.
