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, marking a 5.4 percent year-on-year rise according to the annual report released Thursday by the Belgian e-commerce federation Becom. Despite the overall growth, domestic retailers experienced revenue increases of only 3.43 percent, indicating that a significant portion of consumer spending is flowing to foreign online retailers. The most popular categories included clothing and shoes with 2.7 billion euros, electronics at 1.7 billion euros, and fast-moving consumer goods such as food and beauty products at 1.26 billion euros. More than nine in ten Belgians shop online at least occasionally, yet increasingly that spending ends with foreign platforms rather than Belgian ones. Chinese platforms are a major factor in this trend, with companies like Shein and Temu achieving annual growth figures of 20 to 30 percent. Greet Dekocker, managing director of Becom, noted that consumers mainly choose Asian platforms because the products are cheap, though they often fail to comply with European regulations and may pose health risks. Two broader trends are also reshaping online purchasing behaviour. Just under 30 percent of Belgians say they occasionally use artificial intelligence during the purchasing process, up eight percentage points compared to 2024. Meanwhile, 36 percent say that social media sometimes influences their choices when shopping online.