In 2019, 24.6 % of enterprises with at least 10 employees have received orders via a website or apps. Among them, 98 % have received orders from Belgium, 50 % from the European Union and 24 % from customers outside the EU. Not surprisingly, large enterprises (at least 250 employees) are the ones that export the most. Of the 44.6 % of them who sold online, 60 % did so with European customers and 34 % with customers outside the EU.
A quarter of enterprises with 50 to 249 employees have received orders online. Of these, 53 % and 29 % respectively traded with another European Union country or a country outside the Union.
Smaller enterprises (10 to 49 employees) are about as numerous (24 %) to have received orders placed via a website or apps but export slightly less: 48 % in the EU and 22 % outside.
This is what emerged from the results of the survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in Belgian enterprises[1][2] organised in 2019 by Statbel, the Belgian statistical office.
E-commerce
In Belgium, seven enterprises out of ten have a website with a description of their goods and services and a price list (an increase of 5.3 percentage points compared to the previous year).
The proportion of enterprises having received orders via a website or apps remained stable compared to the previous year.
Social media
Seven enterprises out of ten use social media. This proportion amounts to nine out of ten for enterprises with at least 250 employees. The sharpest increase was registered in enterprises with 10 to 49 employees, i.e. an increase of 13 percentage points in two years (from 55.8 % to 68.8 %).
Connection speed
In 2019, almost all enterprises with 10 or more employees have access to the Internet via a fixed or mobile broadband connection (98.3 %). In 2014, this figure was 95.7 %. The evolution of download speeds is more pronounced: six enterprises out of ten have access to the Internet with a download speed of at least 30 Mbit/s, compared to only four out of ten in 2014.
Low download speeds, of less than 10 Mbit/s, can now be found in only 16.1 % of enterprises, compared to 25.5 % in 2014. Moreover, almost a third of enterprises (31.5 %) can now connect to the Internet with a speed higher than 100 Mbit/s, against 16.9 % in 2014.
Download speed evolution of Internet connections in enterprises with at least 10 employees
High-speed Internet (at least 100 Mbit/s) can be found in more than half of enterprises with at least 250 employees (54.8 %), and more than eight large enterprises out of ten have a download speed of at least 30 Mbit/s.
Security
In Belgium, nine enterprises out of ten use ICT security measures. For enterprises with at least 250 employees, this proportion is almost 100 %. Seven enterprises out of ten use strong password authentication with periodical change. 57.3 % of enterprises make persons employed aware of their obligations in ICT security related issues. This proportion amounts to 91.3 % for enterprises with at least 250 employees. 39.9 % of enterprises say that ICT security related activities are carried out by their own employees. This proportion amounts to 85.0 % for enterprises with at least 250 employees. In 77.5 % of enterprises, ICT security related activities are carried out by external suppliers.
Finally, two enterprises out of ten use information about visitors' behaviour on their website.
[1] Enterprises with at least 10 employees.
[2] Survey organised at the European level based on the Regulation (EC) No 808/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 and on the Regulation (EC) No 1006/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009.