E-commerce not very popular with Dutch companies

In 2004, 14 percent of Dutch companies sold products on-line.  Companies with a broadband Internet connection were more active in the area of e-commerce than companies without broadband. Compared with other countries in the EU 15, the percentage of companies active in e-commerce is not particularly high in the Netherlands. 

Broadband users more active

Companies with a broadband Internet connection make more use of certain ICT applications, including activities in the area of e-commerce, than companies with a slower Internet connection. One quarter of companies with a broadband connection purchased goods or services on-line in 2004. For companies with a slower Internet connection this was only 14 percent.
Internal linkage of computer systems is clearly more common among companies with broadband Internet: nearly two-thirds of these companies had linked their orders system to one or more computer systems, compared with half of companies without a broadband connection. The presence of broadband Internet is thus a measure for the general level of ICT use within a company.

ICT use by companies, 2004

Netherlands not in the international e-commerce top

Compared with other countries in the EU 15, the percentage of Dutch companies active in e-commerce is not very high. Twenty percent of companies in the Netherlands buy or sell goods or services on-line, while 14 percent receive orders on-line. Although this places the Netherlands above the southern countries in the  EU 15, countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Ireland and the United Kingdom still perform much better.

On-line buying and selling

In all countries there are more companies which purchase goods or services on-line than companies that sell on-line. Buying on-line is easier: to place an order on-line a company only has to make use of facilities created by others. Selling on-line, however, requires a company to invest in a website with product and price information and on-line service.

E-commerce by companies EU-15, 2004

Andries Kuipers and Laura Wielenga