Sales at internet web shops without the backing of a brick and mortar presence are growing at a faster clip than web shops which have a physical presence, according to the government statistics office CBS.

Based on sales in the first 11 months of 2016, pure web shops posted a 23% increase in year-on-year sales compared to 14.9% for web shops which also had a physical presence.

Hard blows for clothing stores

The rapid rise of web shops in recent years has caused problems for many classic stores chains, sometimes even forcing them to shut down. These blows are most evident in the clothing sector where 25.4% of internet sales are now registered by pure web shops.

Pure web shops also accounted for 16% of sales of household goods and garden articles through November last year, the CBS said.

At the beginning of 2016 there were 32,000 pure web shops in the Netherlands, nearly 10% more than in the year-earlier period.  The number of pure webshops selling food increased by nearly 14%.

Youth not golden oldies

The Financieele Dagblad said 73% of Dutch residents over the age of 12 bought something on the internet, up from 70% in 2015. The increase was highest in the 45 to 55 year age range where 82% of the population bought online, up from 76% the previous year.