Growth

Our competitive position in the Benelux, supported by scalable and customer-centric propositions, enables sustainable growth and the expansion of selective international activities. In 2025, growth was supported by a recovery in e-commerce volumes, further expansion of our asset-light international network, and targeted initiatives that deepened customer relationships. Parcels and Cross Border Solutions (CBS) continued to reinforce PostNL’s leadership position in the Benelux and beyond.

E-commerce market dynamics

Growth in the e-commerce sector underpins our focus on this sector. During 2025, the Dutch e-commerce market remained highly competitive and increasingly concentrated, with ongoing price pressure across platforms and webshops. Competitive intensity rose from large online players and new entrants from Asia, tightening margins further. We also saw evolving dynamics in digital commerce, with the rise of peer-to-peer marketplaces and early signals of social commerce channels, such as those embedded in or enabled by social-media platforms, which we expect to see develop further in 2026.

Severe cost inflation persisted in 2025, driven by higher wage levels. The effect of wage inflation was felt particularly strongly across our labour-intensive operations, where people are central to the delivery of our services and personnel costs form a significant share of our cost base. Although innovation remains essential, the combination of higher costs and sustained price pressure limited overall investment headroom in 2025.

Realising growth potential

Parcel volumes rose as online retail activity stabilised. Cross-border parcel flows continued to grow in 2025, especially inbound volumes into the Netherlands, which remain an important source of growth. Consumer satisfaction, as measured by the Net Promoter Score (NPS), improved again during the year. PostNL continues to achieve the highest NPS score in our sector among Dutch consumers, reflecting trust in our reliability and service quality, also supported by ongoing investment and focus on improving our channels and information provision.

“PostNL continues to achieve the highest NPS score among Dutch consumers in our sector, reflecting trust in our reliability and service quality”

During the year, we took important steps to strengthen how we understand and support small and medium-sized (SME) business customers, using data and insights to help us gain a clearer focus on specific customer needs. This will help us build stronger, longer-lasting relationships while improving the overall efficiency of our network.

We saw utilisation of our automated parcel lockers (APLs) rise steadily throughout the year, as more consumers embraced the convenience and flexibility they offer. This growing adoption reflects strong consumer appreciation for simple, reliable delivery options. Third-party volumes continued to contribute positively, and insights from the initial roll-out are helping shape the next phase of development. Our focus now is on broadening delivery choice for consumers and increasing the role of OOH solutions, supporting a more balanced and efficient last mile.

We strengthened our fulfilment growth proposition by introducing smart packaging technology at our fulfilment hub in the Netherlands. Automated box-sizing enables optimal, branded packaging for every order, reducing material use, minimising empty space and lowering CO₂ emissions. This technology-driven approach improves operational efficiency while supporting our sustainability ambitions.

Customers benefit from more sustainable packaging, an improved unboxing experience and reliable, scalable fulfilment, while these optimisations also reinforce our international fulfilment proposition through a more standardised and future-proof operating model. As volumes grow, this standardisation supports consistent quality and scalability across markets.

In Belgium, we took an important strategic step in 2025 by shifting focus from an import-led model to a more locally grounded parcel business. While inbound flows from the Netherlands remain an important part of the network, growth is increasingly driven by domestic Belgian customers and a more value-accretive commercial mix. This shift strengthens the resilience of our Belgian operations and supports more balanced network utilisation.

Unlike the Netherlands, the Belgian e-commerce landscape has few very large national webshops, meaning that growth depends on a broad base of SME senders. By tailoring commercial propositions and dedicating more attention to these customers, domestic volumes grew year-on-year. This approach enables us to build closer relationships with customers and respond more effectively to local market dynamics. And with eight operational locations across the country, we are well positioned to handle rising volumes in the country. Together, these developments support sustainable growth and reinforce our competitive position in the Belgian market.

International expansion

During the year, CBS strengthened its position as a trusted partner for cross-border e-commerce logistics, advancing our ambition to create a larger European footprint to reach more customers and meet their needs.

Through Spring Global Delivery Solutions (Spring GDS), we connect customers to 190 global destinations via an asset-light network model, designed to move cross-border volumes faster and at scale. We continued to expand our European network, launching new trade corridors between Western and Eastern Europe and adding fulfilment capacity in Poland, the UK and Italy. These developments enhance delivery reliability and support the rise of international e-commerce flows. At the same time, the broader market dynamics, including the acceleration of cross-border e-commerce and the integration of fulfilment operations into our network, reinforce the strategic value of these investments.

“Through Spring Global Delivery Solutions, we connected customers to 190 global destinations via an asset-light network model, designed to move cross-border volumes faster and at scale”

Spring’s network build-out follows an asset-light approach: leasing space and equipment, keeping automation practical, and scaling locations as volumes grow, with targeted marketing and sales investments supporting this development.

Cross-border continuity

At Spring GDS, when the United States tightened its de minimis rules for e-commerce imports, our teams implemented an alternative technical and operational route to ensure uninterrupted service. We also prepared for anticipated European measures to introduce a handling fee on non-EU e-commerce parcels earlier than expected, as several EU Member States were already exploring the early introduction of national handling fees ahead of a central EU approach. Countries including the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Italy were considering such national measures, underscoring the urgency of readiness. The scenario planning undertaken in recent years proved instrumental in enabling this swift and coordinated response.