Belgians Flock to Foreign E-Commerce, Local Shops Lag

Belgians spent a record €18.3 billion online in 2025, a 5.4% increase from the previous year, according to the latest annual report from the Belgian e-commerce federation Becom. But beneath the headline growth figure lies a troubling reality for domestic retailers: the overwhelming majority of that new spending is flowing to foreign platforms, particularly Chinese giants Shein and Temu.

A Tale of Two Growth Rates

While total online spending jumped by nearly €1 billion, revenue for Belgian e-commerce businesses grew by just 3.43% — barely outpacing inflation and representing near-zero real growth. The contrast is stark. Chinese platforms like Shein and Temu are expanding at 20–30% annually in Belgium, despite what Becom managing director Greet Dekocker describes as their “dubious reputation.”

“It’s no secret that Chinese players like Shein and Temu grow 20 to 30 percent annually, despite their dubious reputation,” Dekocker told VRT NWS.

More than 9 out of 10 Belgians have made at least one online purchase, and six out of ten have bought from a Chinese webshop. Nearly 4 million parcels arrive in Belgium from Asia every single day, according to Het Laatste Nieuws.

The Appeal and the Risks

Consumers are drawn to these platforms primarily by ultra-low prices. Clothing and footwear lead online spending at €2.7 billion, followed by electronics (€1.7 billion) and fast-moving consumer goods like food and beauty products (€1.26 billion).

But the low prices come with significant trade-offs. Dekocker warns that products are often “substandard in quality, and sometimes even downright dangerous.” Many Chinese webshops fail to comply with European regulations, creating what she calls “unfair competition with Belgian and European traders.”

Pierre-Alexandre Billiet, a retail expert and economist at Gondola, is even more blunt. “This completely hollows out our economy,” he told HLN. “The belief that the Belgian consumer with more purchasing power will save our e-commerce and society is finished.”

Regulatory Pushback

The European Union is taking action. On 28 May 2026, the European Commission fined Temu €200 million for insufficient action against illegal product sales. Shein has been under formal EU investigation since February 2026 over concerns including “addictive design” and the sale of illegal products.

Most significantly, from 1 July 2026, the EU will impose a €3 customs duty on all parcels valued under €150 arriving from outside the EU. The measure, agreed by EU finance ministers in December 2025, is specifically designed to level the playing field between European retailers and foreign e-commerce platforms. It is a temporary measure (2026–2028) ahead of broader EU customs reform.

Yet questions remain about whether the €3 fee will be enough to meaningfully shift consumer behavior. As Dekocker notes, “Europe is taking steps to make taxation more correct, but product controls are still falling short.”

The Becom report also highlights two emerging trends that could further reshape the landscape. Nearly 29% of Belgians now use AI tools while shopping online, up from 21% in 2024 — an 8 percentage point increase in just one year. Meanwhile, 36% say social media influences their purchasing decisions.

TikTok Shop is set to launch in Belgium on 15 June 2026, enabling direct in-app purchases and further blurring the line between social media and e-commerce. Billiet predicts that “agentic retail” — where AI bots search for products, compare prices, and even place orders for customers — will only become more important, potentially favoring large platforms with advanced AI capabilities.

What Belgian Retailers Can Do

Despite the challenges, Becom believes Belgian businesses can compete by leaning into local advantages. Dekocker points to “local service, expert repairs, and fast, reliable deliveries” as areas where distant foreign companies cannot easily compete.

Billiet argues that the solution lies not in boosting consumer purchasing power, but in “supporting the economy itself, employment and the competitiveness of businesses, and supporting digital innovation.”

What to Watch For

The coming months will be critical. The TikTok Shop launch on 15 June and the EU’s €3 import duty on 1 July will provide early signals about whether regulatory measures can meaningfully alter consumer behavior — or whether the structural shift toward foreign platforms is already irreversible. For Belgian retailers and policymakers alike, the stakes could hardly be higher.