Final yr, Belgian customers spent 18.3 billion euros on-line. In comparison with a yr earlier, this is a rise of 5.4 p.c. Extra Belgians have began buying on-line, as greater than 9 out of 10 made on-line purchases. Nevertheless, many of the on-line spending went to overseas platforms.
That is based on the newest Market Monitor from Becom, the Belgian ecommerce federation. The earlier version indicated that Belgians spent 17.4 billion euros on on-line purchases in 2024. In comparison with 2023, this was a rise of 6.7 p.c. It was additionally the primary time that buyers within the nation did 1 / 4 of all their spending on-line.
Clothes and sneakers hottest
In 2025, Belgians spent 2.7 billion euros on-line on clothes and sneakers. By way of income, electronics got here in second place with 1.7 billion euros. It’s adopted by fast-moving client items, like meals and wonder merchandise (1.26 billion euros).
Platforms the place Belgians store
“Shoppers are rapidly discovering their method to on-line marketplaces as a result of they provide an enormous number of merchandise. These platforms make the buying course of accessible and intuitive”, explains Greet Dekocker, managing director of Becom.
‘Shoppers are utilizing marketplaces as a result of they make buying accessible and intuitive’
Moreover, Belgians are more and more utilizing AI whereas buying on-line. Nearly 3 out of 10 customers (29 p.c) stated that AI generally helps them when buying one thing. In comparison with 2024, this is a rise of 8 share factors. And 36 p.c of Belgian customers stated that their buying conduct is influenced by social media.
Spending principally went to cross-border shops
The report exhibits some placing information. Whereas on-line spending has elevated strongly, the Belgian ecommerce sector itself has solely elevated about 3.43 p.c. This means that almost all solely spending went to cross-border on-line shops.
“It’s no secret that Chinese language gamers like Shein and Temu are rising by 20 to 30 p.c yearly, regardless of their questionable popularity,” says Dekocker. Shoppers are drawn to those Asian platforms due to their low costs. “However the high quality is usually subpar, and the merchandise can generally even be downright hazardous to well being.”
‘Authorities must do extra’
In keeping with Becom, Temu and Shein are unfair competitors for Belgian on-line shops, as they typically promote merchandise that don’t adjust to European laws. Final month, the European Fee fined Temu with 200 million euros as a result of the platform isn’t actively attempting to curb the gross sales of unlawful merchandise.
To curb the inflow of parcels imported from exterior the European Union, the Belgian authorities has already proposed to introduce a levy on parcels of two euros. However Becom now argues that the federal government ought to take stronger motion, like stricter customs inspections, or requiring platforms to instantly take away unsafe merchandise. “That is the one means we will stop customers from being misled.”
