Fashion Trends in Belgium and the Netherlands

Fashion retail in BENE: price trade-offs, moderate loyalty, and rise of second-hand

High awareness, dominated by major brands

Top brands enjoy massive awareness:

• H&M (83%)
• C&A (81%)
• Nike and Adidas (81%)
• Zara (73%)
  

National differences remain limited, but we observe:

• Slight outperformance of sports brands in the Netherlands (Nike 83%, Adidas 83%)
• Stronger presence of C&A in Belgium (83% vs. 80%)
  

Current customers: fast fashion and sports dominate

For current customers, H&M and C&A lead (33% each overall).
Nike (25%) and Adidas (21%) confirm the importance of the sports segment.

Belgium appears slightly more engaged with generalist major brands (C&A 36% vs. 29% in the Netherlands).

Purchase intentions: sports and value lead

For the next purchase:

• C&A leads (40%)
• H&M follows (37%)
• Nike (30%) and Adidas (28%) remain highly attractive
  

In the Netherlands, intentions for Nike (34%) and Adidas (32%) are particularly strong.

The sportswear segment remains structurally important in purchase projections.

Perceived quality: advantage Belgium

Quality perception is moderate:

• 46% rate it as good or very good
• 37% rate it average or poor
  

But a gap appears:

• Belgium: 51% net good
• Netherlands: 40% net good

The Dutch are more critical (40% average/poor).

Purchase frequency declining

Most buy occasionally (57%) or rarely (19%).
Only 23% report buying often.

Compared to two years ago:

• 39% buy less
• 18% buy more
• 43% buy the same
  

Belgium shows a slightly more marked decline (42% buying less).

The market remains constrained by the economic environment.

Price becomes central, especially in Belgium

66% report that price is now more important than before.

The gap is significant:

• Belgium: 72%
• Netherlands: 60%
  

The Dutch are more likely to feel that price hasn’t increased in importance (35%).

Budget pressure seems more felt in Belgium.

What triggers purchase: need first, promotion second

The primary trigger remains functional:

• 48% buy for a specific need
• Promotion comes second (19%), but:
  
  • Belgium: 26%
  • Netherlands: 11%
    

Online content plays a more significant role in the Netherlands (8% vs. 4% in Belgium).
The Netherlands appears slightly more influenced by digital.

Moderate loyalty, but stronger than in furniture

53% declare loyalty to one or more brands (56% in Belgium, 50% in the Netherlands).

The fashion market thus retains a stronger identity dimension than furniture.

Second-hand: an established practice

42% buy second-hand clothes (regularly or occasionally).

The dynamic is similar in both countries.

Second-hand is now part of regular habits rather than a marginal trend.

Top expectations: price first

As in furniture, price dominates:

• 39% expect more accessible prices
• 22% expect better quality
• 16% expect credible sustainable commitments
  

The Netherlands shows a stronger sustainability expectation (18% vs. 13% in Belgium).

Methodology

YouGov Surveys: Online study conducted on YouGov’s proprietary panel
Belgium: 1,009 adults aged 18 and over. Data are weighted to be representative of the national population in Belgium. Fieldwork conducted in Belgium from 2 to 5 February 2026.
Netherlands: 1,000 adults aged 18 and over. Data are weighted to be representative of the national population in the Netherlands. Fieldwork conducted in the Netherlands from 2 to 5 February 2026.
Significantly higher at 95% confidence vs. national representative sample