BeCommerce Figures & Trends 2012 ECOMMERCE IN BELGIUM

BeCommerce Figures & Trends 2012 ECOMMERCE IN BELGIUM March 2012 Powered by

About BeCommerce Belgian Ditance Selling Organisation BeCommerce is the Belgian association for companies active in distance selling, both online (via all forms of e-commerce) and offline (via catalog, direct mail, phone, SMS, TV, etc.). Through awareness raising, information, promotion, certification of e-commerce sites through a quality label and its own code of conduct, BeCommerce encourages the further growth of the ecommerce sector and the strengthening of consumer confidence in distance selling. BeCommerce counts today 215 e-tailers and 31 business partners. More info: www.becommerce.be

Patricia Ceysens President of the Board of Directors In march 2012 BeCommerce ran a major member survey in association with ivox into the current situation of ecommerce in Belgium and distance seller expectations for 2012. Focusing on the expected growth of the industry, most sold products online, logistical services, payment methods and new this year, mobile commerce. I m glad to announce that the Belgian e-commerce market is catching up with their neighbours. But there is still much room for improvement and expansion. And this is exactly where BeCommerce and its partners will provide the necessary support and knowledge. Patricia Ceysens, President of the Board of Directors

BeCommerce Annual Figures & Trends 83% of online shops expect 2-digit growth in 2012 Mobile Commerce is the next big thing! Trust in E-commerce is growing Brussels, 27 March 2012 At the occasion of the E-shop Expo on 28 and 29 March at Tour & Taxis, Patricia Ceysens, chair of BeCommerce, presents the results of their annual study about E-commerce in Belgium. The research on the figures of 2011 and the growing expectations of the Belgian market for 2012 was carried out in March 2012 by the research agency ivox in more than 500 online shops. The market remains extremely positive about the future: 83% of the respondents expect a 2-digit growth of their turnover through online sales. Expectations are high for mobile commerce (M-commerce) too, as

demonstrated by the survey of the federation of Belgian distance sellers. Patricia Ceysens, chair of Be- Commerce is pleased: We noticed a growth of 23.8% in the total turnover of online transactions processed by Belgian e-commerce sellers in 2011 compared with 2010. And for 2012 we leave the 1.8 billion BtoC E-commerce of 2011, far behind us!. Big traditional retailers now fully opt for E-commerce. The share of online sales in the total turnover of the surveyed companies amounts to 58.1% (vs. 66.1% in 2010). That drop is due to the successful growth in online sales of a large number of traditional retailers such as e5mode, Brantano, Kiabi, Decathlon, Delhaize, Pierre Marcolini who reinforce their internet strategy with actions. Overall, this is very good news because the market of pure players, companies who only sell on the internet, is complemented by the established retailers which will lead to more E-commerce. Furthermore it seems that E-commerce in Belgium is mainly focused on selling to Belgian consumers and that share has considerably increased compared with 2010: 66.7% of the total online sales are realised in Belgium (vs. 45.3% last year). That trend is partially explained by the progress of the traditional food and non-food retailers who are strongly active at national level. Colruyt and Delhaize are strong players in the Belgian market, but are less active in the Netherlands for example. It is important that Belgian online shops (definitely the pure players too) look soon beyond the national borders, if they do not want to be pushed out by international trans-border online trade, says Patricia Ceysens.

Debit cards in the lift as online payment method Credit cards like Visa and MasterCard remain the absolute leaders as online payment method for the pure players. 95% of the surveyed online shops provide this payment method. But debit cards as payment method clearly are in the lift: more and more pure players now also allow customers to pay with Bancontact/Mister Cash (81% in 2011 vs 65% in 2010). Buying behaviour of the E-consumer Irrespective of the payment method, the majority (55%) of online consumers buys for an average sum of between 50 and 200 euro (vs. 5% in 2010). 11% of the purchases are even higher than 500 euro (vs. 5% in 2010). The consumer is more and more familiar with online buying and paying. In total, some 20 million online transactions are expected by BeCommerce members for 2012, with the last quarter being decisive a.o. because of the Christmas period. The top 5 product categories bought online are Electronics (38%), Home & Garden (36%), Clothing & Fashion (34%), Entertainment (34%) and Hard & Software (28%). The research also demonstrates that the importance of comparison sites decreases by 33% in 2011 compared to 53% in 2010. That is logical as the E-consumer now is familiar with E-shops and E-brands and therefore buys in full confidence from E-shop x or z. Logistics: the last mile Consumers are demanding: goods must be traceable online or be delivered at home within a defined time slot and the consumer wishes to be informed on time. Time slot delivery e.g. is still not provided

as an option by three-quarters of the respondents: there is still room for innovative logistic solutions! On the question how they deliver the ordered products to the consumer 34% of the respondents answered they work with a private transport company, completed or not with bpost services. Patricia Ceysens explains: We notice a strong growth of 15% compared with 2010 of the use of private transport companies for the delivery of online orders. The difference can be explained by new needs of the consumer and increased segmentation of the market. However, bpost has survived the segmenting of the market well, as confirmed by the following figures: 2 out of 3 respondents (64% vs. 49% in 2010) indicate they work with bpost as logistics partner. Kiala and TNT PostPakketService follow with respectively 26% and 21%. A good example of complementarity is a mix of the offer of Kiala e.g. (recently taken over by the American UPS), with a strong European network of collection points and bpost. New! M-Commerce: explosive growth expected in 2012-2013. M-commerce, online selling via mobile applications currently only represents 2.6% of the total turnover generated by online sales. That could change soon, explains Patricia Ceysens. 15% of the respondents indicate that they use Mobile commerce to reach the consumer, while half of the surveyed companies want to use it in the future. The success of tablets is not without importance in this, which is why many BeCommerce members make their website tablet-friendly. There still is a great growth potential for distance selling through mobile applications. 71% of the respondents expect, just like me, additional turnover by applying M-Commerce!

Introduction About the study Aim of the study Study of the current situation in the online distance selling market in Belgium as well as expectations and trends Method o Online quantitative survey by ivox o Respondents from BeCommerce database (approximately 550 contacts) o Target group: Belgian organizations with distance selling activities o Fieldwork: 9-19 March 2012

Introduction About the study

Introduction About the study General remarks concerning the research o The figures in this report are based on an online questionnaire about figures 2011 & expectations 2012, conducted in March 2012 during 1 week with all the BeCommerce members o Research facilitated by ivox (Leuven) (www.ivox.be) o Sectors NOT included in this research: - Tourism: travelling, airplane tickets, train tickets, - Financial sector: stocks, bonds, insurances, o The figures relate to sales B2C, not including sales B2B o The figures relate to the sales results of Belgian companies, they are not consumer figures (consumers buy on Belgian and foreign e-shops) o Yearly survey

Distance selling profiles Belgian company vs. Foreign company

Distance selling profiles Distance sales vs. Traditional sales

Distance selling profiles Pure player vs. Multichannel player

Distance selling profiles Share of distance selling in total turnover The share of the distance selling in total business turnover is higher in the last two years.

Distance selling profiles B2C vs. B2B

Distance selling profiles Share of B2C in total turnover A small decrease of the share of B2C in the total turnover of distance selling in comparison to 2010

Distance selling profiles Business export

Distance selling profiles Business export Share of distance selling turnover realized in Belgium increases

Payment methods Pure players

Payment methods All distance sellers

Payment methods Average amount per order

Payment methods Share of distance selling in business turnover

Payment methods Number of transactions in relation to orders

Payment methods Number of transactions in relation to parcels

Payment methods Online transactions

Payment methods Number of transactions

Delivery methods Delivery to the end user Increase in delivery by private transport services. Via postal services Courier (e.g. UPS, TNT, DHL, ) Through pick-up points (e.g. Kiala, ) Through a private transport service Other Non of those

Delivery methods Logistics service providers 2 out of 3 distance sellers has Bpost as a logistics service provider.

Delivery methods Time slot delivery Time slot delivery methods are still emerging.

Communication mix Pure players 2011 Direct mail (via post) Direct mail (via email) Internet banners Search engine optimization Search engine advertisement Radio TV Affiliate Marketing Price comparison sites Other (e.g. offline advertising)

Communication mix All distance sellers 2011 Direct mail (via post) Direct mail (via email) Internet banners Search engine optimization Search engine advertisement Radio TV Affiliate Marketing Price comparison sites Other (e.g. offline advertising)

Communication mix All distance sellers 2011 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Direct mail (via post) 0% 0% 13% 12% 5% Direct mail (via email) 73% 86% 60% 82% 86% Internet banners 36% 29% 27% 53% 33% Search engine optimization 100% 71% 67% 88% 81% Search engine advertisement 82% 71% 67% 88% 81% Radio - - - 24% 0% TV - - - 18% 5% Affiliate Marketing - - - 59% 52% Price comparison - - - 53% 33% sites Other (e.g. offline advertising) 46% 29% 47% 41% 10%

Social media All distance sellers 2011 Facebook is the most important social media for 50% of the distance sellers.

Facebook commerce All distance sellers 2011 28% of all distance sellers are already engaged in Facebook commerce.

Opinions of the Belgian distant sellers The Belgian distance selling market will continue to grow in the next 2 years

Opinions of the Belgian distant sellers The competition with foreign distance selling companies will increase in the next 2 years

Opinions of the Belgian distant sellers The internet will become the main ordering method in the next 2 years

Opinions of the Belgian distant sellers It is important for an e-commerce website to be certified by an independent institution

Opinions of the Belgian distant sellers The Belgian legislation prevents the growth of my distance selling activities