In Belgium, online stores generated a total turnover of €8.2 billion in 2019. This is an increase of 17% compared to 2018. Noteworthy is that more than 25% of all generated sales comes from cross-border consumers.
A growing amount of shops
This is partly due to the growing amount of Belgian e-commerce shops. Aside from that, the number of online transactions by Belgians is growing strong as well. The latest figures from a yearly E-commerce Barometer by SafeShops show that the number of online sellers increased by 20%. Now, a total of 29,231 sellers is active. Despite that, just like in many countries, it is a small part of sellers who account for the lion’s share of Belgian e-commerce sales. Less than 1000 stores generate 87% of total Belgian e-commerce revenue. A rise in the number of transactions brings the total in 2019 to 85 million.
Cross-border revenue
More than 2 billion euro revenue is generated from cross-border sales. By adding language-options to their shops and specifying assortments to cross-border consumers, Belgian shops can increase their revenue. Most cross-border sales are generated in France, followed by the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. On average, Brits spend the most per purchase (€136). The Dutch are at the bottom with an average order value of €81.
Payments in 2019
In Belgium, the most preferred payment method is Bancontact. In 2019, it is followed by credit cards. Especially larger purchases are paid by credit card.