A survey carried by the retail trade federation Comeos has found that 9 out of 10 Belgians aged between 18 and 70 made at least one online purchase during the past year. A total of 2,000 people took part in the survey.
One third of those surveyed said that they are regular customers of just one web shop, while 40% said that usually shop at three online retailers. Platforms such as bol.com and Amazon are particularly popular. Half of the respondents said that they usually shop online via an online retail platform.
Comeos says that this is not surprising, "as consumers are mainly looking for competitive prices, free shipping, a wide range of goods on offer and want to be able to easily compare prices".
One in three respondents said creating an account in order to be able to shop at a web shop is a barrier to them making a purchase and indicated that they cancel their purchase if they are required to create an account.
More than six out of ten respondents opted for home delivery for their last online purchase, while just 12% opted to collect their parcel at a collection point.
Debit card remains the most used payment method with 58% of online purchases being paid for by debit card.