Local Marketing
Local Marketing in the Netherlands: 2026 Numbers
CBS Statistics Netherlands reports that 81% of people aged 12 and over bought something online in the first half of 2024, the highest share in ten years. DataReportal's Digital 2026 report adds that Facebook's ad reach in the Netherlands fell 11.8% in a year while Instagram slipped 2.4%.
Your customers are online, but the platforms they use are shifting, and the Dutch rules for cookies and marketing messages are strict. This guide pulls together published figures for the Netherlands, labels every assumption, and ends with the break-even math for a local business such as a kapper, a koffiezaak, a sportschool or a hondentrimsalon.
Facts below were checked on 10 October 2026. Where a source gives no date, the article says so.
The Market in Numbers
DataReportal (Digital 2026: Netherlands, published 5 November 2025, using UN, GSMA Intelligence and Kepios data) gives the basics:
18.4M↑
Population
UN data, Oct 2025
99%→
Internet penetration
Kepios, capped at 99%
8.15M↓
Instagram ad reach
Meta ad tools, late 2025
7.50M↓
Facebook ad reach
Meta ad tools, late 2025
Estimates for illustration; actual numbers vary.
Other figures from the same report: 26.9 million cellular connections (146% of the population), 15.3 million social media user identities (83.3% of the population), and a median age of 41.5. The report stresses that platform ad reach is not the same as monthly active users and that platforms revise these numbers often.
The business side, from the Chamber of Commerce (KVK): 2,599,668 establishments were registered on 1 January 2026, up about 1% on a year earlier. Starters fell 10% in 2025 against 2024 and closures rose 18%. Competition for local attention is steady, but new entrants are fewer and failures are more common, so staying visible matters.
Platform Reach: What Moved
| Platform | Ad reach, late 2025 | Share of population | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | 15.3M | 83.3% | +3.4% since end 2024 |
| LinkedIn (registered members) | 14.0M | 76.2% | +7.7% since end 2024 |
| 8.15M | 44.4% | -2.4% Oct 2024 to Oct 2025 | |
| 7.50M | 40.8% | -11.8% Oct 2024 to Oct 2025 | |
| TikTok (adults 18+) | 6.30M | 41.9% of adults | +11.9% since end 2024 |
How to use this:
- Instagram still reaches more people than Facebook in Meta's ad tools (8.15M against 7.50M), but both fell over the year. Do not assume reach is guaranteed to rise.
- TikTok grew fastest of the five lines, at +11.9%. It is an adult-only number (18+), so for a business with teenage customers it understates the pool.
- LinkedIn counts registered members, not active users. A figure of 14.0M does not mean 14.0M people read posts. It is useful for professional services, less so for a barber.
Search remains the intent channel. No platform in this table replaces someone typing "kapper Rotterdam centrum" into Google.
Dutch and English: Who Speaks What
Do not guess the language mix of your area. CBS publishes the share of residents with a non-Dutch background, meaning born abroad or born in the Netherlands with at least one parent born abroad.
On 1 January 2025 nationally 16.8% were born abroad and 11.7% were born in the Netherlands to one or both foreign-born parents, which is about 28.5% combined (our sum). On 1 January 2024 the total share was 59.6% in Amsterdam, 56.5% in Rotterdam, 59.9% in The Hague and 40.3% in Utrecht.
That statistic is about origin, not about English-speaking customers. Many residents with a non-Dutch background speak Dutch fluently, so it does not prove you need an English campaign. It does show why the older advice to "run bilingual ads in Amsterdam" must be tested, not assumed.
Google's language targeting is changing in a way that helps you test it. Per Google Ads Help, from September 2026 the campaign-level language setting is removed for Search campaigns and the Search Network part of Performance Max. Search ads will match based on the language of the ads, and ads in the language of the search term get priority.
So build one ad group in Dutch and one in English, with matching landing pages, and compare cost per booking after a month. Our Google Ads service page shows how we structure this.
For location, Google's help says the default reaches people who are in or regularly visit your area as well as those interested in it, that radius targeting is available for most campaign types, and that location is a best-effort signal. For a single shop, set a radius around the premises and check which postcodes produce bookings.
Dutch Rules You Need to Check (as of 10 October 2026)
This summarises official pages the author opened. It is not legal advice.
Cookies and tracking. The Dutch government's business portal (business.gov.nl) says tracking cookies need the visitor's active consent, while functional and analytical cookies need none if they have no or little impact on privacy. Pre-ticked boxes, consent inferred from continued browsing, and cookie walls that block visitors who refuse are not valid, and consent must be provable and as easy to withdraw as to give. The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, AP) monitors compliance. If you run remarketing tags or ad pixels that follow behaviour for targeted advertising, that falls into the tracking category (our reading of the portal's definition), so your banner must collect consent before those tags fire.
Email, SMS and WhatsApp marketing. The Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) says to send electronic advertising only to people who gave prior consent, as a deliberate choice rather than a pre-ticked box or general terms. You must be able to prove consent for up to 5 years after sending. Existing customers can receive messages about products or services related to their earlier purchases if they can opt out and the sender is clear. Every message needs a quick, free unsubscribe. The business portal states the ACM can fine up to EUR 900,000 per violation. WhatsApp's Business Policy asks for opt-in permission and respect for opt-out requests made on or off WhatsApp. See our GDPR email guide for small European businesses and the WhatsApp automation guide.
Advertising claims. Per business.gov.nl, the Dutch Advertising Code (Article 8) forbids misleading advertising: claims that are incorrect, incomplete or very unclear, including hiding important information on a website. Exaggeration is allowed. The Advertising Code Committee handles complaints, and an upheld complaint means the ad can no longer be used as it stands.
Selling online. ACM says consumers generally have a 14-day cooling-off period for online and phone sales, and sellers must explain it before the sale, or the period extends by a year. ACM's news item of 11 June 2026 says online retailers must offer a clearly labelled withdrawal button from 19 June 2026 (its separate seller page gives 25 June 2026, so check the current page). The button applies to products and services bought online. ACM lists exceptions, including services tied to a specific date or period, so ask the ACM whether your bookings or vouchers are covered before you assume either way.
Where Dutch Customers Spend Online
CBS's 2024 survey of about 6,000 people (fieldwork April to June) found these shares of people aged 12 and over who bought online in the previous three months: cosmetics and perfume 31%, personal care items 24%, sporting goods 28%, meals ordered 40%, and clothing and shoes 59%.
People aged 25 to 44 were most likely to buy online (94%), against 41% for those aged 75 and over. If your customers are in that 25 to 44 band, a booking link and online payment are not optional extras.
The Math
There are no verified Dutch click prices or conversion rates in the official sources used here, so the figures below are assumptions. The structure matters more than the values.
| Tough | Base | Strong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly ad budget (assumption) | EUR 900 | EUR 900 | EUR 900 |
| Cost per click (assumption) | EUR 2.00 | EUR 1.50 | EUR 1.20 |
| Clicks | 450 | 600 | 750 |
| Click to enquiry rate (assumption) | 3% | 5% | 7% |
| Enquiries | 14 | 30 | 53 |
| Enquiry to booking rate (assumption) | 40% | 50% | 60% |
| New clients | 5 | 15 | 32 |
| Ad cost per new client | EUR 167 | EUR 60 | EUR 29 |
| Visits in the first year (assumption) | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Average visit value (assumption) | EUR 45 | EUR 45 | EUR 45 |
| First-year revenue minus ad spend | -EUR 414 | +EUR 1,125 | +EUR 4,770 |
Counts use unrounded values. Revenue is not profit: after staff, product and rent, the Base column earns less than it shows. The Tough column loses money even after repeat visits, which is the point: a campaign can fail on cost per click alone.
Break-even click price = first-year value per new client x enquiry rate x booking rate. At EUR 135 (3 visits x EUR 45), 5% and 50%, that is 135 x 0.05 x 0.50 = EUR 3.38. In the Tough column the ceiling is 90 x 0.03 x 0.40 = EUR 1.08, below the assumed EUR 2.00 click, so that campaign loses money on average.
Our local marketing budget guide explains how to size spend once you have your own click data, and our Google Business Profile checklist covers the free half of local visibility.
Do This Today
- Calculate your first-year value per new client and your break-even click price with the formula above.
- Check your website banner: tracking tags must wait for active consent, refusing must not block the site, and you must be able to prove each consent.
- Audit your mailing and WhatsApp lists. Keep proof of opt-in, label the sender, and add a free one-step unsubscribe.
- Split your Search ads into a Dutch ad group and an English ad group with matching landing pages, then compare cost per booking after four weeks.
- If you sell vouchers or products online, ask the ACM whether the withdrawal button and cooling-off information rules apply to you.
FAQ
Q: Should I advertise in Dutch or English?
A: Test both. CBS shows many residents have a non-Dutch background, but that does not tell you their language. From September 2026 Google matches Search ads on the language of the ad, so separate Dutch and English ad groups give you clean data.
Q: Do I need a cookie banner?
A: If you use tracking cookies, such as ad remarketing, yes. business.gov.nl says active consent is required for them and that analytical cookies with little privacy impact do not need it. Banners that hide the refuse option or block access after refusal are not valid.
Q: Can I email past customers without asking again?
A: Under ACM guidance you can message existing customers about products or services related to their earlier purchases, if they can opt out easily and the sender is clear. For everyone else you need prior consent you can prove.
Q: Is Instagram or Facebook better for a Dutch local business?
A: Instagram has more ad reach (8.15M against 7.50M), but both declined in the year to October 2025. Choose by where your customers are, and compare cost per booking.
Q: What does a kapper or cafe need first?
A: A complete Google Business Profile, a booking path that works on a phone and a measured Search campaign, before any social spend. See the Germany and Denmark guides for how neighbouring markets compare.
Sources
- DataReportal: Digital 2026, Netherlands (published 5 November 2025)
- KVK: The year in numbers, economic insights in business
- CBS: Over 8 in 10 people shop online (29 November 2024)
- CBS: How many residents of the Netherlands have a non-Dutch background?
- Business.gov.nl: Cookies (no date shown on page)
- Business.gov.nl: Rules on advertising (no date shown on page)
- ACM: Spam voorkomen in uw reclame (Dutch)
- ACM: Bedenktijd (Dutch)
- ACM: calls on online retailers to prepare for the withdrawal button (11 June 2026)
- Google Ads Help: About language targeting
- Google Ads Help: Location targeting
- WhatsApp Business Policy
Want a Dutch and English campaign with consent-safe tracking? See our Google Ads service or contact DataLatte.
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Nataliia
Local marketing strategist with 10+ years at global agencies — OMD, Dentsu, GroupM, and BBDO. Now helping small businesses get the same data-driven edge. Based in Europe, working with clients in the US, UK, Australia, and beyond.
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