Ecommerce in Belgium
garnered up to 10.67 billion euros in 2018 to record a 6 percent uptick
compared to the figures for 2017. Online shopping has earned popularity in the
nation that apart from spending more online last year, reports say Belgian
shoppers visited ecommerce platforms more frequently in 2018— with the average
shopper buying items online over 11 times.
According to BeCommerce
(Belgium’s association for online businesses), in 2017, the average number of
web-based purchases for every Belgian consumer was 10.3. The studies also
showed that Online shoppers in the countries in Western Europe purchase items
like toys, apparel, and electronics online.
What online product
categories are booming in Belgium?
• Toys recorded an 11 percent growth in its
ecommerce market share increase in 2018.
• Media & Entertainment, Sports, telecom,
and ‘clothing’ all went up 3 percentage points over the same span.
Analysts:
Belgium will flourish to match the Netherlands
Belgium’s ecommerce
growth rate is slowing down somehow, but the online retail industry will keep
expanding, BeCommerce Chairman Sofie Geeroms says. “Looking at our situation,
we are still behind compared to our bordering countries. However, Belgian
companies like Schoenen Torfs and Standaard Boekhandel are making thorough
investments. We expect to grow to the equal of, let’s say, the Netherlands”,
said the CEO.
Bancontact
& credit card are Belgium’s favorite payment avenues
BeCommerce also reported
the most common payment methods Belgians used to pay for products online:
• Bancontact
• Credit card
Bancontact is so far the
most used online payment means in Belgium. An entire 68{0d47f428dc419e1f352b6c1d97ff73b5628ee438b8c7e1c08728559ce86ee24c} of all ecommerce
purchases were made through Bancontact, and 30 percent of the money spent
buying items online for these purchases were made using this choice.
Credit card was Belgium’s
second-favorite means of payment. Belgians use this option for high-value
purchases. Last year, it made up for 42 percent of the money spent online.
Wrapping
up
Belgium is another
excellent example of the fast-paced shift towards online shopping. People are
increasingly adopting the trend of getting whatever goods they need on the go.
Merchants should now streamline the buying (and paying) process and reduce
friction to generate more income and give shoppers what they want— a smooth
buying process all the way from Product Search to Product Delivery stage.
Author Bio: Payment
industry expert Taylor Cole is a passionate merchant account expert who
understands the complicated world of accepting credit and debit cards at your
business. His understanding of the cheapest
merchant services in the industry has
helped thousands of business owners save money and time.