Unlike most European countries, local players generate the most online revenue in the Netherlands. The top 3 in online spending for 2023 is led by online department store bol. Supermarket chain Albert Heijn, a sister company of bol, takes second place, and electronics retailer Coolblue is in third. Amazon rises in the new ranking and claims fourth place.
Online retailers in the Netherlands are ranked annually in the Twinkle100, a publication by ecommerce trade magazine Twinkle. The list has been led for years by bol, which in 2023 achieved 4.3 billion euros in online revenue in the Netherlands, where ecommerce is more established than anywhere else. At a significant distance follows its sister brand Albert Heijn. Coolblue, which mainly grows in Germany, occupies the last spot on the podium.
Amazon grows in the Netherlands
While Amazon dominates the ecommerce markets in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, it must settle for fourth place in the Netherlands. However, this is one place higher than in last year’s Twinkle100, when Amazon was listed with an (estimated) turnover of 900 million euros. The new ranking, with 1.2 billion euros in sales, suggests that Amazon grew by a third in revenue last year. As a result, Amazon, which has been seriously targeting the Dutch market since 2020, has passed Zalando in the ranking.
Amazon has overtaken Zalando.
Amazon’s nominal growth in the Netherlands, of around 300 million euros, is comparable to that of market leader bol over the past year.
Top 10 online stores in the Netherlands
Alongside Amazon, Picnic is the only other climber in the top 10 of the Twinkle100, with Dutch revenues of 800 million euros in 2023. For further growth, the online supermarket is expanding into France and Germany. Supermarket chain Jumbo and online department store Wehkamp each drop one place on the list. Belsimpel is a new entrant in the top 10, which is rounded out by Apple.
The top 10 online stores in the Netherlands now looks as follows:
1 bol 4.30 billion euros
2 Albert Heijn 1.80 billion euros
3 Coolblue 1.55 billion euros
4 Amazon 1.20 billion euros
5 Zalando 1.00 billion euros
6 Picnic 800 million euros
7 Jumbo 655 million euros
8 Wehkamp 552 million euros
9 Belsimpel 432 million euros
10 Apple 430 million euros
Apple does top the sustainability ranking, published as a sublist within the Twinkle100, which anticipates European legislation. This ranking evaluated the circular and sustainable measures companies have visibly implemented for consumers.
Online spending in The Netherlands
The three hundred companies in the Twinkle100 generated 4 percent more revenue last year than in the 2022 edition, according to the editorial team in collaboration with the Centre for Market Insights at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. This growth is comparable to the overall increase in online spending in the Netherlands last year.
The Dutch top 300 grew 4% in revenue.
In neighboring Germany, the thousand largest online sellers saw a slight decline in revenue in 2023, although a new phase of online growth appears to be emerging there.
