Belgium Online Retailers Find their Way to Local Marketplaces

In two years, the number of Belgium online retailers selling products on bol.com has more than doubled. Even post-covid, more and more retailers find their way to the online platform. But the arrival of the Belgium Amazon will somewhat break the hegemony in Flanders. Now retailers will choose between one platform. 

In the years before Covid-19, the number of Belgium online retailers on bol.com kept rising. In 2017 1,500 retailers, and after two years, this almost doubled to 2,700. Thanks to Covid-19, this rose to 5,400 Belgium active retailers, so this doubled in two years.

However, Belgium retailers are still significantly outnumbered by their Dutch retailers. Recently, the platform celebrated its 50,000th trading partner. In addition, almost all sellers on bol.com come from the Netherlands and Belgium.

Amazon or bol.com?

With Amazon announcing that “in the coming months,” a Belgium webshop will open, bol.com will have a formidable competitor. Probably bol.com is currently the first, second, and third website where Dutch and Flemish people remember when they want to shop online. That could now change. There is a reason that Amazon is entering the Belgium market and opening a warehouse in Antwerp.

Amazon may also steal sellers from bol.com, as many retailers will choose one or the other platform. That choice will depend on the market that the retailers want to reach. For example, if a retailer mainly targets the Dutch and Flemish markets, it is better to choose bol.com. But those retailers looking at Brussels and Wallonia are potentially better at Amazon as Amazon is already in a much stronger position there.

One thing is for sure, e-commerce in Belgium will continue to grow even after Covid-19. The volume will probably increase less quickly. But the ecosystem in which a limited number of players offer an all-in solution will continue to exist.