When we talk about e-commerce, we usually talk about the current state of affairs, as we see it ourselves, or about the future. But how has consumer internet use and online shopping developed over the years? Insight into the evolution of online shopping in the Netherlands.
Has the vision of online shopping become reality?
Jesse Weltevreden, lecturer in Online Entrepreneurship at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, list to data gave an inaugural lecture last week on the evolution of online shopping in the Netherlands. Weltevreden approaches it differently from lecturer Cor Molenaar, for example, who speaks from his vision, based on his scientific background. “He tells you what retail looks like in 2015. I am more of a factual person and can tell you to what extent that vision has already become true in the past period,” says Weltevreden.
But before we get there, let's first take a quick look back. According to Weltevreden, the ecommerce evolution can be characterized by four phases: the pioneering phase, which took place between 1994 and 1999, the phase in which the internet became commonplace (1999-2004), the period of rapid expansion of e-commerce and social media (2004-2009) and the period we are in now, in which the internet functions as a fully-fledged sales channel (2009-present).
Pioneer phase
In the pioneering phase, the desktop PC entered Dutch households. A minority, around 16%, had access to the internet at home in 1998, which was still via an analogue telephone line. Online shopping was therefore hardly done and viewing web pages and e-mail were the main online activities. Larger retail chains started registering a domain name in this period, while the independent retailer lagged behind in this respect. Online sales hardly took place and the home shopping turnover still came mainly from post and telephone.
Website blocker 1997
Blokker's website in January 1997
Internet becomes commonplace
In the period between 1999 and 2004, the internet became commonplace. There was a rapid growth in the number of internet providers and in 2003 more than two thirds of the Dutch had access to (broadband) internet. One third of the Dutch shopped online during this period. People now also downloaded, played games, chatted and banked online on the internet. In the retail sector, a large majority of the retail chains now had an active website. Half of the independent retailers owned a domain name. Online sales were on the rise during this period, while turnover via post and telephone had reached its peak.