Belgian online spending tops 18 billion euros, but foreign retailers take a growing share
Belgians spent 18.3 billion euros on online purchases in 2025, a year-on-year rise of 5.4 per cent, according to the annual report published on Thursday by the Belgian e-commerce federation Becom. Yet a significant and growing portion of that spending is flowing abroad, with domestic retailers seeing revenue grow by just 3.43 per cent.
More than nine in ten Belgians shop online at least occasionally. The most popular categories are clothing and shoes (2.7 billion euros), electronics (1.7 billion euros) and fast-moving consumer goods such as food and beauty products (1.26 billion euros). Increasingly, however, that spending is ending up with foreign online retailers rather than Belgian ones.
Chinese platforms are a major factor. "It is no secret that Chinese players such as Shein and Temu are achieving annual growth figures of 20 to 30 per cent, despite their dubious reputation," said Greet Dekocker, managing director of Becom.
"Consumers mainly choose Asian platforms because the products are cheap. But often these products are of poor quality and sometimes even downright dangerous to health. Moreover, many Chinese online shops do not comply with European regulations."
Two broader trends are also reshaping online purchasing behaviour. Just under 30 per cent of Belgians say they occasionally use artificial intelligence during the purchasing process, up eight percentage points compared to 2024. Meanwhile, 36 per cent say that social media sometimes influences their choices when shopping online.
PHOTO © Ina FASSBENDER / AFP
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