These are only a few of the remarkable results that are shown in the E-commerce Barometer unique report because it maps out the online landscape using the webshops’ transaction data. The numbers clearly show that Belgian e-commerce has increased up to 8.8 billion in 2020 which is a 7.5% rise compared to 2019. More than 20,000 new webshops were launched, adding up to a total of 48,000 Belgian online merchants.
Today, The House of Marketing, the largest marketing consultancy player in the market, and SafeShops, the Belgian e-commerce association, presented the results of the latest E-commerce Barometer. It is based on information gathered from the online shops through the transaction data provided by the Payment Service Providers.
Transaction increases to 8.8 billion euros
The collected data shows that in 2020 Belgian webshops accumulated a transaction volume, or turnover, of 8.8 billion euros. That is an increase of 7.5% over 2019. The E-commerce Barometer results also show a significant increase in the number of transactions. In 2020, more than 108 million transactions were recorded, which is 26.5% more than the previous year.
“This solid growth in the number of transactions indicates that, due to COVID-19, people did not only buy more online but also more often. Each second, 3.4 transactions were registered and €279 was spent”, as explained by Julie Luppens from The House of Marketing. “At the same time we saw the 7.5% increase in volume was smaller than previous years. (2019: +17%; 2018: 20%). The explanation lies in the heavy impact COVID-19 had on the travel industry and the ticketing business. This is only partly compensated by online shopping at local stores and take-outs.”
Small and medium merchants go online
In 2020 our country tallied 48,181 webshops. Over 20,000 of them have been created last year. 63% of those new online merchants can be found in the micro and small segments. These segments also account for the largest turnover increases, respectively 67% for the micro segment and 40% for the small webshops.
“The number of Belgian webshops has strongly increased. In 2020, 1,579 new webshops were created each month, almost 4 times as many as the year before. This led to a record numbers of Belgian webshops”, as told by Greet Dekocker, Managing Director at SafeShops.be. “Last year’s lockdowns are unquestionably one of the reasons for this significant rise. Moreover, numerous local initiatives were greatly promoted which led to a strong boost. ow that even more consumers have gained more trust in e-commerce, we hope that a large part of these new webshops will keep serving their customers online even when COVID-19 is behind us.”
Export amounts to 1.4 billion euros
Foreign consumers have also found their way to Belgian webshops. The numbers show that 16% of the transaction volume comes from abroad.
First, in the top 5 countries shopping at Belgian webshops is France (29%), followed by The Netherlands (23%), the United Kingdom (8%), Germany (7%) and finally the United States (7%).
However, Americans buying at Belgian webshops are the biggest spenders. Their average basket value is €375 while Dutch shoppers spend an average of €116€ and French shoppers €120.
2020 peak moments
January and November turned out to be the busiest months in 2020 with volumes going over 800 million euros. Most transactions took place on a Monday while Saturday was the least busy day.
The week of November 23rd turned out to be a record week registering new record volumes every single day. The culmination of that week – and the entire year – was Black Friday registering 7 transactions per second, or 59.7 million euros.
The smallest volumes (€649 million) were recorded in March. The lowest volume (less than €13.5 million) was registered on the first day of the lockdown, March 14th, 2020.
“The results of this fifth edition of our E-commerce Barometer show that e-commerce is, still, increasingly seeping into our daily lives. Whether or not they were forced to by the circumstances, more consumers found their way to Belgian webshops. For both consumers and online merchants, we observed a firm trust in e-commerce. This is an incredibly positive signal in these uncertain times that can only be welcomed” conclude the initiators.
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The E-commerce Barometer, unique because of its focus on the online merchant as opposed to the consumer, offers detailed knowledge in the online transactions carried out in Belgian webshops. The Belgian online landscape is mapped out using transaction data provided by Payment Service Providers (PSPs). They possess the transaction volumes of Belgian webshops no matter what payment method is used (Bancontact, credit cards, PayPal, banking apps, etc.). Participating providers: CCV, Europabank, Worldline (including Ingenico’s data), Mollie and Multisafepay.
Segment categories based on transaction (value)
Occasional: < 12 transactions/year
Micro: < €100.000
Small: > €100.000 < €1.000.000
Medium: > €1.000.000 < €10.000.000
Large: > €10.000.000
About The House of Marketing
For over two decades, companies have been calling upon The House of Marketing for strategic management consultancy and interim management. Working with a THoMer means collaborating with a connected hub of more than 100 passionate and committed marketing experts and a network of freelance consultants. Our entrepreneurial spirit and future-proof vision on marketing enables us to inspire, foster innovation, and help our customers in their transition to profitable, sustainable growth. We do the same with e-commerce: collaborating with the digital experts of our subsidiary Upthrust, we support our customers in their growth from strategy to implementation.
The House of Marketing is empowered by Quanteus Group and Down2Earth Capital. Find out more at www.thehouseofmarketing.be.
About SafeShops.be
SafeShops.be is the Belgian e-commerce association that promotes online shopping in Belgium.
Their goal is to increase consumer and customer confidence in online shopping, and in doing so, stimulate the growing success of e-commerce and online shopping in Belgium.
For example, they issue and promote the SafeShops.be quality and security label and organize lots of events where knowledge transfer regarding e-commerce is key.
More info on www.SafeShops.be.
Press contacts:
Julie Luppens – julie.luppens@thom.eu – +32 476 52 49 74
Greet Dekocker – greet@safeshops.be – + 32 476 99 29 40
