Record number of online sales and transactions in Belgium

Belgian consumers bought more online in the first half of 2024 than ever before, figures from the ​ e-commerce federation Becom show.

Every six months, the federation produces a report on online purchasing behaviour in Belgium. In the first half of this year, 89 per cent of adults bought something online, a figure that has never been higher. Both sales and transactions have increased by 5 per cent. 

"We see that very small and small webshops are growing in size," said Greet Dekocker of Becom. "This is a positive development because the small and medium-sized webshops account for 61 per cent of the total number of transactions."

Travel, clothing and toys

The most popular online purchases are package holidays, airline tickets and clothing. The fastest growing category is toys, followed by national transport. This sector has been growing for a number of years, according to Becom, mainly due to an increase in online purchases of train tickets, taxi rides and shared cars. 

The share of online purchases has continued to grow since the Covid-19 pandemic. About 25 per cent of all sales are made online. According to Decocker, there is still room for growth in the food sector, as only 3 per cent of food is bought online. 

^{© BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK}