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Expandly Blog

Amazon’s EU Audience Shrank as the Netherlands Grew

Amazon’s own regulatory filings show its European reach is not one market moving together, and the country-level spread is wide.

In This Article

01 What the filings report
02 The country-level spread
03 Why the aggregate misleads
04 Reading it for market selection
05 Four checks before planning

Key Takeaways

► EU monthly active users fell to 193.9 million
► France fell 4.0% while the Netherlands grew 4.0%
► Denmark grew 18.4%, Greece fell 20.2%
► Plan Amazon Europe by country, not in aggregate

Amazon's average monthly active EU users fell to 193.9 million in the first half of 2026, down from 195.2 million in the second half of 2025. The figures come from Amazon's own transparency filings to the European Commission under the Digital Services Act, so this is the platform reporting on itself rather than an outside estimate.

193.9 million Amazon's average monthly active EU recipients in H1 2026, down from 195.2 million in H2 2025. Source: Amazon DSA transparency filings via Ecommerce News Europe, 11 September 2026.

The overall move is small. The country spread is not. Germany fell 1.7 per cent, France fell 4.0 per cent and Italy fell 0.1 per cent. The Netherlands was the only top-five market to grow, up 4.0 per cent. Denmark grew fastest at 18.4 per cent, and Greece fell furthest at 20.2 per cent.

That spread is the point. Brands routinely talk about "Amazon Europe" as though it were a single audience with a single trajectory, and it plainly is not. A channel plan built on the aggregate figure will overweight France and underweight the Netherlands and Denmark, and the aggregate hides both mistakes.

There is a second reading for anyone planning a European entry. The Netherlands growing while the largest markets soften is consistent with what Dutch consumers already do. They buy internationally at high rates, and the market is both wealthy and comfortable with cross-border purchasing. For a US brand choosing where to land first, that combination is worth more than raw market size, particularly when the alternative is competing for attention in a French or German market where the platform's own reach is drifting down.

Amazon is one channel among several in Europe, and this data is a reason to check the rest.

  • Break your Amazon Europe performance out by country before setting next year's plan.
  • Compare Amazon's reach in each target market against local marketplaces there.
  • Look again at the Netherlands and the Nordics if you have been sequencing by market size alone.
  • Remember these are platform reach figures, not sales figures, and do not read them as revenue.

Expandly sets up multiple European channels from one platform, so market selection is a commercial choice rather than a technical constraint.

Expandly helps US ecommerce brands expand into Europe — compliance, marketplaces and fulfilment, all handled. We’ve supported 2,000+ brands make the move.

Find out more
  • VAT registration handled across UK, Germany, Netherlands and all EU markets
  • EU fulfilment from our Netherlands warehouse — fast access to the whole continent
  • Amazon EU, bol.com, Zalando and DTC integrations — all channels, one platform
  • Real-time inventory and order management across all your active channels
  • Dedicated onboarding, compliance and success team alongside the platform
  • 17 years' experience, 2000+ brands expanded — Andy Hooper, Founder

The bigger picture

One Platform, Many Markets Country Choice Drives Returns

Amazon's EU reach falling overall while the Netherlands and Denmark grow shows how little an aggregate European figure tells a brand deciding where to sell. Each of those markets is a separate VAT registration, a separate producer responsibility obligation and its own product compliance position, so market selection is a compliance decision as much as a commercial one. Expandly's onboarding is compliance-first, and for a marketplace-led brand the first step is a market and channel review that establishes which countries to register in and which channels reach the buyers there. Choosing markets on country-level evidence, with the registrations lined up behind them, is what stops a European launch spreading thin.

  • Germany fell 1.7 per cent, France 4.0 per cent and Italy 0.1 per cent, while the Netherlands rose 4.0 per cent and Denmark rose 18.4 per cent
  • Expandly's base engagement covers the UK, Netherlands and Germany, with further countries added as the market case supports them
  • A brand launching into every large European market at once carries three or four compliance workloads before knowing which market responds

Dutch Ecommerce Market

The Netherlands ecommerce market is worth EUR 36.5bn and accounts for 31 per cent of total retail spending there. It is a smaller market than Germany or France, with a higher online share and a population used to buying from abroad.

EUR 36.5bn

Netherlands ecommerce market value, 31% of total retail spending as of 2026. Landmark Global.

DSA Transparency Reporting

Very large platforms must report average monthly active recipients to the European Commission under the Digital Services Act. That obligation is why brands can see country-level platform reach at all, rather than relying on estimates.

193.9 million

Amazon's reported average monthly active EU recipients, H1 2026. Amazon DSA transparency filings via Ecommerce News Europe, 11 September 2026.

Marketplace-Ready at Launch

Every marketplace in Europe has its own compliance and listing requirements. Expandly handles setup and integration for each channel so your products are ready to sell from day one.

2,000+

brands launched with Expandly

If this sounds like your world,
let's talk.

Expandly helps US ecommerce brands expand into Europe — compliance, marketplaces and fulfilment, all handled.

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  • Best for: $1M–$5M brands

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  • Dedicated Account Manager
  • Best for: $5M–$20M brands

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  • Dedicated VIP Consultant
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