Online shopping in Belgium increased by 10.7% in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to the annual barometer of Becom, the Belgian e-commerce federation.
Belgian consumers spent €16.3 billion online in 2023, but €5.5 billion of this amount was funnelled into foreign platforms. The federation considers this a concerning trend. "Belgian traders need to establish a stronger presence on these marketplaces," they said.
Becom welcomed the fact that the total annual purchase amount has escalated by €4.8 billion in five years. Additionally, the federation noted that about a quarter of Belgian expenditure occurred online in 2023. "The significant surge is mainly due to the increase in purchases of services online, such as package holidays or plane tickets," explained Greet Dekocker, Director-General of the federation.
Package holidays represented the largest portion of online purchases last year (€3.5 billion, a 28% rise from 2022). Following this were purchases of plane tickets and accommodation (€2.1 billion) and the clothing sector (€1.6 billion), which observed a slight drop (-1.8%).
Lacking online presence
Becom affirmed that Belgian online retailers sold goods worth €2.5 billion to foreign consumers in 2023, a decrease of €200 million compared to the previous year.
The number of Belgian online stores has grown by 10.5% in one year. However, Belgian customers remain heavily active on foreign commercial platforms, on which €5.5 billion was spent. "Many Belgian traders are not yet active on these online marketplaces," Becom reported, describing this as a "significant shortfall."
"With a better representation of our traders on these platforms, Belgian consumers would shop more at Belgian online stores," predicted Dekocker.
