E-commerce last-mile delivery landscape in the Netherlands

The Netherlands, a country of quaint, narrow streets and picture-perfect canals; a place where wind power and bikes are as much a part of the scene as the legendary Van Gogh and Rembrandt.

With centuries of trade, a vast transport network, and Europe’s largest port in Rotterdam, it’s a key supply chain gateway and e-commerce powerhouse.

The Thuiswinkel Market Monitor valued the Dutch e-commerce market at €34.7 billion in 2023, with over 80% of consumers shopping online.

With Europe’s second-highest e-commerce penetration rate after the UK, the Netherlands is a prime destination for online retailers looking to expand.

With an important side note.

Delivery business model for scalable retail growth

If you're looking to scale your brand's e-commerce operations, you're facing a game of high stakes without a locally adapted delivery strategy and the right carrier partnerships in place.

This is where the real magic, or the real challenge, begins. The Netherlands has more than 100,000 online stores. Optimizing your delivery experience from product discovery to returns can be your biggest differentiator in a highly saturated market that makes or breaks sales.

Here’s what you need to know about last-mile delivery and consumer expectations in the Netherlands to create a seamless customer experience and a profitable, scalable delivery strategy.

E-commerce penetration rate in the Netherlands

More than eight in ten Dutch consumers shopped online in the first half of 2024. Online purchases surged, especially for personal care products, medicines, and vitamins. Other popular retail verticals include fashion, consumer electronics, home, and garden products.

Delivery preferences among Dutch consumers

Different delivery services in the Netherlands offer varying delivery times. In 2023, standard delivery carriers estimate a shipping time of two to three days, especially in less densely populated areas.

With the rise of alternative last-mile solutions, same-day deliveries — as well as delivery during specific time slots during the day — are a common rule in urban areas.

Estimates say that 70-90% of online consumers in the Netherlands prefer home delivery, which boasts a 99% first-attempt delivery success rate.

It's possible the use of pick-up points as a last-mile delivery method will grow together with the density of parcel lockers across the country in 2025-2026.

The rise of delivery experience personalization

PostNL reports that at the end of 2024, 2.5 million Dutch customers have personalized their delivery preferences through the carrier's app, helping the e-commerce sector to manage Black Week sales and deliveries with more efficiency.

Black Friday is a strong feature of the Dutch e-commerce calendar, with approximately a third of Dutch consumers planning to shop during the event. It comes just before Sinterklaas on December 5, a traditional Dutch gifting holiday and another equivalent of Christmas sales at the end of the month.

Thriving but competitive retail market

According to Statistics Netherlands, last month there were 22,985 online stores selling clothing, or 23 percent of the total number of businesses. This makes clothing the most popular category, followed by online shops selling a general assortment (20,325 companies, or 20.3%) and online stores selling home and garden items (18,250, or 18.3%).

Dutch online shoppers are multilingual and tech-savvy but they do show a preference for domestic e-commerce marketplaces. Amazon launched in the Netherlands in March 2020 and came under significant competitive pressure from home online marketplace players Bol.com and Coolblue.

German Zalando and domestic Wehkamp are the largest clothing marketplaces in the Netherlands that account for 5-10% of online fashion sales each. Other big e-commerce players include Uniqlo, H&M, Hema, Media Markt, Kruidvat, Etos, and Albert Heijn.

Relatively speaking, growth in the amount of online shoppers has been strongest in the personal care category, 21-24%, and the medicine and vitamin pills category, 19-21%. Online purchasing of sporting goods and cosmetics has also become more prevalent.

Pharmacy delivery optimization lessons from Nordic e-commerce

Top global carriers operating in the Dutch market

Your traditional carrier options in the Netherlands include PostNL, DHL, and DPD Netherlands, FedEx, GLS, Evri and TNT.

PostNL carries out universal postal and parcel delivery service in the Netherlands and the Benelux with about a 60% domestic market share. In recent years, the company evolved from a national mail carrier to a fully digitised logistics services provider. Today, they process two million parcels a day, largely including e-commerce deliveries.

German DHL holds around a 35% market share in Dutch logistical operations with a strong international focus. France-based DPD Group holds about a 5% parcel volume in the Netherlands with flexible delivery products and a local network of pick up parcel shops.

Use easy API integrations from 300+ carrier products offered by Ingrid

Sustainable urban freight solutions in the Netherlands

Dutch shoppers want the best from online shopping. With the Netherlands being a global supply chain hub, domestic consumers expect the best shopping experience without friction. These high expectations gave impulse to a remarkable growth in sustainable, exportable last-mile delivery models.

Domestic supply chain challenges

Cities swell with the influx of urban dwellers and real estate development. With the rise of online shopping, home deliveries, often made by diesel vans, put fierce pressure on the supply chain, inner city traffic, and the environment.

Drivers spend more time en route, navigating congested delivery routes and scouring for rare parking spaces. With soaring fuel prices and fixed costs of shipping operations, delivery costs, and fulfillment time went up.

How can municipalities combat truck traffic in inner cities while still helping businesses and shoppers receive goods in a fast and reliable fashion? Not only inner city transport has to be electrified to reduce emissions but also made compact to ease the issues of congestion and limited parking.

Legislative last-mile delivery changes

Over the years, local governments in the Netherlands have been reshaping urban landscapes into car- and emission-free zones.

Municipality measures have restricted car traffic on dense city streets, removed parking spaces, and increased parking rates. Environmental zones have also been introduced to reduce emissions.

Key cities like Utrecht and Amsterdam are taking it even further. In 2025, combustion-engine delivery vans are to be completely banned from inner-city areas.

'Sustainable' doesn't really say anything

According to the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), the industry must follow key principles when communicating sustainability efforts. Sustainability claims should be accurate, clear, specific, and complete, backed by up-to-date facts.

Comparisons with other products or competitors must be fair, and future sustainability ambitions should be described in concrete, measurable terms. Additionally, visual claims and certifications should be helpful, not misleading, ensuring transparency and trust in sustainability messaging.

When offering climate-smart last-mile deliveries, retailers should make it easy for customers to understand what exactly makes each delivery options sustainable and introduce incentives to choose those over other methods.

"Incorporate clear, descriptive tags like ‘fossil-free’ at checkout," Ben Lundberg, Supply Chain Manager at Nudie Jeans, advises. "It helps customers make informed choices and shows the real impact of every purchase and delivery. Generic terms like ‘sustainable’ make way less impact."

Urban consolidation centers (UCC)

The idea of reducing truck traffic via freight hubs called Urban Consolidation Centers (UCCs) was born in the Dutch city of Nijmegen. Rather than entering the city, long-haul trucks would enter designated freight hubs on the outskirts of the city.

Here, e-commerce orders and other cargo get off the trucks and enter a more sustainable cargo transport, like electric vehicles and delivery bikes, for last-mile delivery.

Today, Nijmegen's UCC is one of about a dozen such facilities across the Netherlands.

Pick-up and drop-off points (PUDO)

Out-of-home (OOH) delivery networks, also known as pickup and dropoff (PUDO), are expanding across Europe as a convenient, efficient alternative to home delivery, and the Dutch market makes no exception.

Parcel locker deliveries in the Netherlands have surged by 150% compared to 2023, as Dutch consumers embrace the flexibility and convenience of picking up parcels at their preferred time and location. Part of their willingness to pick parcels up in a carbon-zero way can be due to the market's culture as well.

In line with the emerging consumer trend, PostNL opened up its 1,000 parcel lockers to other carriers in early 2024. Later that year, Sweden-native Budbee announced its full transition to parcel lockers at the expense of traditional home deliveries in the Netherlands.

Local in-store fulfillment

They don't just make clothes. They create future classics. Nudie Jeans is a Gothenburg-based denim brand that breathed new life into the Swedish concept of lagom, or 'just the right amount'.

Nudie Jeans ships to over 50 countries worldwide using a delivery strategy combines sustainability and efficiency. First, they prioritize bulk warehouse deliveries to physical stores while sourcing goods and services from sustainable suppliers.

Then, Nudie Jeans uses physical store inventory for online order fulfillment as a way of minimizing individual global shipments. With a skilled team and stocked inventory, the brand’s De 9 Straatjes store in Amsterdam was ideal for a ship-from-store solution.

The missing piece? A sustainable local carrier, and Peddler was the perfect fit. In November 2023, in collaboration with Peddler and Ingrid, Nudie Jeans successfully went live with fossil-free bike delivery service, serving Amsterdam from the local store within 1-2 business days.

"Since then, our 'slow but fast' delivery approach in Amsterdam has been growing."

Victor Sjöstedt, Supply Chain Coordinator at Nudie Jeans

In early 2024, the Amsterdam store fulfilled around 75% of online orders using fossil-free carriers like Peddler.com and Budbee among others.

"The delivery speed has been a great add-on for our customers, but we don't mention 'same-day-delivery' in the checkout process," Victor adds. "Instead, we emphasize that it's 'bike delivery' and 'fossil-free."

Three carriers driving last-mile innovation in the Netherlands

Budbee

Swedish tech company Budbee entered the Netherlands in 2019 to make online shopping easier for consumers. Powered by self-learning technology and bespoke algorithms, Budbee serves Dutch consumers through more than 1,000 Budbee Box parcel lockers nationwide.

Although nearly 90% of Dutch shoppers still prefer home delivery or neighbor drop-offs, parcel lockers like Budbee Boxes offer unmatched flexibility and extended access, which will continue shaping new consumer habits.

Peddler

Meet Peddler, the Dutch delivery marketplace redefining local shipping with on-demand, sustainable fulfillment. It operates in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht, and all deliveries use cargo transport, cutting retailer emissions by up to 60%.

The company's ship-from-store and ship-from-hub services power both local and international brands with a fresh take on micro-fulfillment. Shoppers get to choose from same-day delivery until 5 PM, 60-minute express options, and flexible click & collect.

Cycloon

Another innovative local delivery service and a local cargo bike entrepreneur, Cycloon operates in over 60 Dutch towns and cities with same- and next-day parcel deliveries. By working together, omnichannel brands, marketplaces, and Cycloon riders create a greener and socially responsible delivery market.

Parcels arrive when it’s most convenient for consumers, including evening deliveries with no extra fees. Also, to ease city traffic and cut CO2 emissions, Cycloon riders use cargo bikes, while bulkier items and longer routes are handled by green gas vehicles.

Use easy API integrations from 300+ carrier products offered by Ingrid

More carriers and delivery options equal conversion

Is your checkout leaving money on the table? More carriers in checkout boost conversion by 5.8%, more delivery options by 27.7%, and here's why.

Consumers want deliveries to fit their lives, not another chore to deal with, so you need to be recruiting freight companies that can help you create delivery personalization.

In 2024, 32% of shoppers chose the cheapest delivery option, 17% prioritized speed, and 35% expressed no clear preference.

The remaining 15% base decisions on personal preferences like trusted carriers, pickup availability, named-day delivery, or climate-smart options.

Interestingly, 34% are likely to change their delivery preference for repeat purchases, and 85% say that a poor delivery experience would prevent them from coming back.

You can strike just the right balance by offering 3-5 delivery options for each order, giving customers the freedom of choice without overwhelming them. Brands with multiple delivery options see a 27% checkout conversions increase on average.

Explore our take on Dutch e-commerce checkout do's and don’ts

Should you offer free shipping?

It's one of the most popular delivery tactics in e-commerce to offer free delivery on all orders. It doesn’t mean, however, that it’s the best solution for your business.

Sure, free shipping brings in sales. Long-term though you need to be strategic about the way you offer it to achieve scalable business growth.

What if your customers started paying for delivery? Not only could it be translated into an income that can cover the shipping costs but could also leave you with a profit. It's a slow but steady shift.

"There's a 'sweet spot' where paying for delivery might mean selling fewer products but still earning more."    

Anders Ekman, Co-Founder of Ingrid

IDEAL OF SWEDEN raises AOV by 7%

IDEAL OF SWEDEN, a global fashion and lifestyle brand for premium phone accessories, faced uncertainty on optimal delivery pricing when introducing fees in the Netherlands, lacking data on consumer price sensitivity.

To optimize delivery pricing, IDEAL OF SWEDEN A/B tested several price points. With the help of Ingrid and a free shipping progress bar, they set a €45 cart threshold for free shipping and leveraged product upselling to drive higher average order value (AOV) and conversions.

"The Dutch don't like to pay for shipping, but we do like discounts if we need to spend more."

Emiel Lutz, Head of Sales NL, Ingrid

The result? A 7.81% increase in transaction conversion rate (TCR) and a 7% AOV boost.

Make data-driven decisions about your shipping costs and conversion

Apoteket boosts delivery revenue by 75%

Apoteket, one of Sweden's leading pharmacy chains, faced a unique challenge in balancing fast, free deliveries with sustainable growth.

The pharmacy's delivery model requires next-day shipping at no extra cost to customers, but it turned out that low-value orders like a single toothpaste tube or over-the-counter medicines led to significant operational losses.

With the support of Ingrid, Apoteket set up granular data analytics dashboards for key profitability insights to guide smarter e-commerce decisions. Also, delivery pricing A/B tests increased fees for low-value orders and kept free shipping for sustainable AOVs.

Finally, customizable checkout experiences optimized each customer journeys, seamlessly supporting both online and in-store fulfillment, without added strain on e-commerce or logistics teams.

By shifting to strategic, profit-driven delivery, Apoteket boosted shipping revenue by 75% in H2 2024. Despite a 1% dip in conversions due to higher fees and growth focus, the customer mix became more profitable.

Turn your e-commerce delivery into a real revenue driver

Delivery experience as a competitive advantage

Entering new markets and scaling your business gets easier when you can offer the best carrier services. Your online e-commerce business can't afford to be sub par, and the delivery cost of online retail will only keep growing.

To set the right delivery strategy and keep improving it at all times, integrate with the right technology partner like Ingrid to suggest real-time, most cost-effective, and convenient delivery options for every purchase and location, while ensuring the optimal delivery pricing spot for your business.

⚫ E-commerce last-mile delivery landscape in Belgium;
⚫ E-commerce last-mile delivery landscape in Norway;
⚫ E-commerce last-mile delivery landscape in the UK.