Read this article in:The Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), the Dutch authority responsible for consumer protection and fair competition, announced on Wednesday that it has initiated an investigation into a Dutch online retailer Bol, after receiving complaints from multiple businesses.According to ACM, several companies have voiced concerns about their offerings receiving less visibility on the platform despite offering the best prices/ quality.Furthermore, there are indications that Bol may be leveraging data from businesses to strengthen its position within the marketplace.The investigationThe ACM’s investigation aims to determine whether the online platform violates any laws or regulations.If the ACM concludes that the Dutch platform has indeed violated the law, it may impose penalties such as fines or injunctions.As digital markets continue to shape our society, the ACM is committed to ensuring their proper functioning.- A message from our partner -Bol’s replyIn a reply to ACM’s questions, Bol says, “It goes without saying that we will fully cooperate with the ACM investigation. Our colleagues are working hard to provide the supervisor with all the necessary information to ensure the investigation runs smoothly.”“We believe it is important that the ACM ensures that online platforms take responsibility for a reliable online environment. For us, the relationship with our sales partners is extremely important. We are always looking for ways to improve our platform and look forward to the research with confidence.”Launched in 1999, Bol.com claims to be the largest online retail platform in the Benelux that provides books, entertainment, electronic devices, and toys for its clients.More than two decades later, the shop boasts 13 million active users in the Netherlands and Belgium, a 35 million-item product variety, and 52,000 sales partners that sell their goods through the Bol.com platform.ACM’s goal for 2024One of the ACM’s strategic goals for 2024 is to stimulate an open and fair digital economy that benefits businesses and consumers based on rules that protect competition and consumer rights.To achieve this, the ACM is preparing to enforce various digital regulations once the legal framework is established, including the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the Digital Services Act (DSA), and the Platform-to-Business Regulation (P2B)

DUBLIN, Jan. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Netherlands Ecommerce Market Opportunities Databook - 100+ KPIs on Ecommerce Verticals (Shopping, Travel, Food Service, Media & Entertainment, Technology), Market Share by Key Players, Sales Channel Analysis, Payment Instrument, Consumer Demographics - Q2 2023 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.Ecommerce market in Netherlands is expected to grow by 8.49% on annual basis to reach US$43.3 billion in 2023. The Ecommerce is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 6.90% during 2023-2027. The Ecommerce gross merchandise value in the country will increase from US$39.9 billion in 2022 to reach US$56.5 billion by 2027.This report provides a detailed data centric analysis of Ecommerce market dynamics, covering over 100 KPIs in Netherlands. It details market opportunity across key Ecommerce verticals - Retail Shopping, Travel & Hospitality, Online Food Service, Media and Entertainment, Healthcare and Wellness, and Technology Products and Services.It provides market share by key players across key verticals along with sales channels (Platform to Consumer, Direct to Consumer, Consumer to Consumer). In addition, it provides spending pattern by payment instruments along with a snapshot of consumer behaviour in Netherlands.The report also covers niche trends such as market size by live streaming engagement model and cross border purchases

Bol holds a significant lead in the Twinkle100, the list of the largest online retailers in the Netherlands. The revenue of bol, as the company is now simply called, is more than twice as high as that of the runner-up, which shares the same owner.Behind the leader bol, listed with a Dutch online revenue of over 4 billion euros last year, Albert Heijn takes the second spot with 1.7 billion euros in revenue. The supermarket chain, like bol (formerly bol.com), is owned by Ahold Delhaize. Coolblue secures the third position on the list, followed by Zalando. Amazon follows, with an estimated Dutch annual revenue of 900 million euros in 2022.No newcomers in the top 10The top 10 of the Twinkle100 consists of the exact same names as the top 10 from the previous year. Amazon and Zalando have switched positions, as have Jumbo and Picnic, but the other rankings remain unchanged.The top 10 online stores in the Netherlands now looks as follows:1 Bol € 4.02 billion 2 Albert Heijn € 1.7 billion 3 Coolblue € 1.55 billion 4 Zalando € 915 million 5 Amazon € 900 million 6 Jumbo € 670 million 7 Wehkamp € 663 million 8 Picnic € 610 million 9 Apple € 480 million 10 Ikea € 420 millionAmazon not so dominantWith its fifth position, Amazon plays a relatively modest role in Dutch ecommerce