63% of Belgians aged between 16 and 74 have made online purchases
E-commerce
63% of Belgians aged between 16 and 74 have made online purchases. This is a slight decrease of 3 percentage points compared to 2021, but still 8 percentage points higher than in pre-COVID year 2019.
Purchases of physical goods decline by 4 percentage points compared to 2021, while purchases of online services do continue to rise slightly.
| E-commerce | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL physical goods | 63% | 65% | 61% |
| Clothes (including sport clothing), shoes or accessories (e.g. bags, jewellery) | 40% | 45% | 42% |
| Deliveries from restaurants, fast food chains, caterers, ... | 17% | 24% | 19% |
| Computers, tablets, smartphones, mobile phones or accessories | 13% | 14% | 12% |
| TOTAL online services | 48% | 49% | 50% |
| Films or series as a streaming service or downloads (e.g. Netflix) | 18% | 22% | 21% |
| Tickets for cultural or other activities | 18% | 10% | 22% |
| Transport services | 12% | 11% | 16% |
| Accommodation | 18% | 16% | 23% |
Value of online purchases continues to rise
14% of people who ordered goods or services for private use via the internet during the last three months bought for more than 1,000 euros in the past three months. In 2019 this was 8%.
What do Belgians do with their old smartphone or mobile phone?
67% of Belgians aged between 16 and 74 who have used the internet in the last three months indicated that they still keep their old, no longer used smartphone or mobile phone at home. 11% have given the device away while 13% made sure it ended up in the electronic waste collection or recycling.
Price and processor speed decisive when buying ICT device
When buying a new ICT device, price, processor speed, look and feel and new or improved features are decisive factors. The environmental friendliness of the device, such as sustainability, upgradeability, packaging, plays only a limited role in the purchase.
| Key factors in most recent ICT device purchase - % of inhabitants of Belgium aged 16-74 who have used the internet in the last three months | |
|---|---|
| The price | 73% |
| Hard disk properties (memory, speed) or processor speed | 56% |
| The environmental friendliness of the device (e.g. sustainability, upgradeability) or the packing material | 9% |
| The possibility of extending the guaranteed lifetime of the device by buying an additional warranty | 5% |
| Take-back scheme offered by manufacturer or seller | 4% |
| The long (standard) warranty period | 9% |
| The look of the device | 22% |
| It is a new model | 13% |
| The device has new or improved features | 37% |
| I have never bought such devices | 3% |
Purpose and brief description
This data collection from households and individuals aims to compile internationally comparable statistics from national indicators on the digital divide.
Moreover, the survey is subsidised by Eurostat, the European statistical office.
Field of research
The survey on ICT usage by households and individuals is coupled to the Labour Force Survey as a special ‘ICT and Internet’ module. A randomly selected person in the household answers all the questions, over both the situation of the household and his/her individual situation.
Data collection method and sample size
Data collection method
There are two data collection methods for the ICT survey among households and individuals since 2009: a web application and a paper form. When the LFS survey is completed, the interviewer selects among the household members on the basis of the birth dates who will have to answer the questions on ICT usage. The interviewer hands a paper form and a paid envelope over as well as a document with instructions and access codes for the web application. A reminder is sent to the households who didn’t answer within two or three weeks after the interviewer’s visit. Before 2009, the interviewer interviewed households orally following the LFS survey.
Sampling
The sample of the ICT survey among households and individuals is coupled to the LFS survey. All households having taken part to the LFS survey are invited to answer the questions on ICT usage.
Response
The response rate of the ICT survey is 67 % of the households who took part to the LFS survey. The response rate compared to the initial gross sample is 45 %.
Frequency
The ICT survey is organised on a yearly basis.
Timing of publication
The data have to be sent to Eurostat by the beginning of October. The results are available for the general public by the end of the year.
Definitions
Low-skilled people are people who have at best a lower secondary education diploma. Medium-skilled people have obtained an upper secondary education diploma, but no higher education diploma. High-skilled people have a higher education diploma.