Online shopping
Online shopping shows the widest gap between the two countries. According to Eurostat (isoc_ec_ib20), 94.2% of people aged 16–74 in the Netherlands bought something online in the 12 months before the 2025 survey, against 51.2% in Bulgaria and 73.6% across the EU-27.
Bulgaria is catching up quickly from a low base. Its share rose from 30.9% in 2020 to 51.2% in 2025, a gain of 20.3 percentage points, compared with 8.9 points for the EU-27 and 7.6 points for the Netherlands, where the market is close to saturation. The gap between Bulgaria and the EU average narrowed from 33.8 points in 2020 to 22.4 points in 2025.
In the 2025 EU-27 ranking, Ireland led with 95.0% and the Netherlands came second, while Bulgaria ranked twenty-seventh, behind Italy at 56.2%. Roughly half of Bulgarians aged 16–74 are not yet buying online, so a survey of online shoppers there is not a survey of Bulgarian consumers.
Daily internet use
Daily internet use is far closer to the EU norm than online buying. Eurostat's frequency-of-use data (isoc_ci_ifp_fu) show that 82.7% of Bulgarians used the internet every day in 2025, up from 46.5% in 2015. The Dutch figure was 98.4% and the EU-27 average 89.5%.
The contrast matters for research design. In 2025, Bulgaria trailed the EU by 6.8 percentage points in daily internet use but by 22.4 points in online shopping. Most Bulgarians are reachable by web surveys; many simply do not yet buy online, so that behaviour cannot be assumed.
Consumer confidence
Consumer confidence has weakened across Europe over the past year. Eurostat's seasonally adjusted consumer confidence indicator (ei_bsco_m) stood at −17.3 for the EU-27 in October 2026, down from −12.7 in October 2025. In the Netherlands it fell from −12.9 to −19.0 over the same twelve months, and in Bulgaria from −23.8 to −29.1.
The 2026 path differed by country. The Dutch and EU indicators dropped sharply in spring, with the Netherlands at −23.8 in April 2026, recovered over the summer and slipped again in the autumn. Bulgaria's drifted down from −23.5 in January to −29.1 in October, still above its low of −36.6 in April 2020.
CBS StatLine (83693NED), on its own scale that is not comparable with Eurostat's, put Dutch consumer confidence at −34 in October 2026, against −27 a year earlier, with willingness to buy at −18. Because stated intentions move with sentiment, price tests should always record the month of fieldwork.
| Consumentenvertrouwen | Economisch klimaat | Koopbereidheid | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10 | -34 | -59 | -18 |
| 2026-09 | -33 | -58 | -17 |
| 2026-08 | -34 | -57 | -19 |
| 2026-07 | -35 | -59 | -19 |
| 2026-06 | -39 | -64 | -22 |
| 2026-05 | -46 | -72 | -28 |
Prices and purchasing power
Eurostat's purchasing power data (prc_ppp_ind) for 2024 show how far price levels and real consumption differ, with the EU-27 set at 100. The price level index for actual individual consumption, roughly what households pay for goods and services, was 56.9 in Bulgaria and 121.0 in the Netherlands. In real terms, consumption per head was 19,300 purchasing power standards (PPS) in Bulgaria, 31,400 in the Netherlands and 26,300 in the EU.
The gaps are not uniform. Food and non-alcoholic beverages had indices of 88.8 in Bulgaria and 98.9 in the Netherlands, whereas restaurants and hotels stood at 53.2 and 124.6. Real spending on clothing and footwear was 400 PPS per head in Bulgaria, 1,400 in the Netherlands and 800 in the EU. Price positioning therefore needs checking category by category.
Key takeaways
- Online reach is not online buying: Bulgarians are online almost as often as the EU average but buy online far less, so test sales channels separately from media reach.
- Bulgaria's online-shopper base is growing faster than the EU's, so refresh any market sizing before each planning cycle.
- Confidence fell during 2026, so date-stamp every pricing research result before comparing waves.
- Price gaps are much wider for services such as restaurants than for food, so one country-wide price assumption misleads.
- Use these figures to frame a consumer research study, and the TAM SAM SOM calculator for a first market estimate.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the online shopping figures come from?
From Eurostat's annual survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals, dataset isoc_ec_ib20. It measures the share of people aged 16–74 who bought or ordered goods or services online for private use in the previous 12 months. The definitions are harmonised, so the Bulgarian, Dutch and EU figures can be compared directly.
Why do the Eurostat and CBS consumer confidence figures differ?
They use different calculations. Eurostat publishes a harmonised, seasonally adjusted indicator for every member state, with the Dutch series supplied by CBS and the Bulgarian series by NSI. CBS also publishes its own national indicator on a different basis. Both show the direction of sentiment, but the levels should not be compared with each other.
What are purchasing power standards?
Purchasing power standards (PPS) are an artificial currency unit that removes price-level differences between countries, so one PPS buys the same amount of goods and services everywhere. Real expenditure in PPS therefore compares volumes of consumption rather than amounts of money, which is why Bulgarian and Dutch figures can be set side by side.
How should I use these figures in a business plan?
Use them as context and as a check on your assumptions, not as a forecast for your category. Cite the dataset and year next to each figure. Where your plan depends on a number the statistics do not provide, such as category spend or brand preference, a targeted survey fills the gap; request a proposal to scope one.
Sources
- Eurostat — Internet purchases by individuals (2020 onwards) (2026-04-17)
- Eurostat — Individuals - frequency of internet use (2026-04-17)
- Eurostat — Consumers confidence indicator and survey results - monthly data (2026-10-29)
- CBS StatLine — Consumentenvertrouwen, economisch klimaat en koopbereidheid (2026-11-05)
- Eurostat — Purchasing power parities, price level indices, nominal and real expenditures by analytical categories - based on COICOP 1999 (2025-07-10)