The Dutch domain name market is doing well, with further growth recorded in the third quarter of the year. Although the growth was modest (1.5 per cent), summer is traditionally a very quiet period for registrations. A significant milestone was also passed: there are now more than nine million registered domain names in the Netherlands.
Domain name market continues to grow
Cancellations down
Domain names remain as popular as ever with Dutch people. Even in mid-summer, when many people were on holiday, more than 100,000 domain names a month were being registered. And 60,000 of them were .nl domain names. In contrast to the situation a few years ago, very few domain names are being cancelled. Since the start of 2016, the percentage of registrants cancelling their domain names has dropped from 15 per cent a year to 12 per cent.
Far fewer unwanted domain names
It's hard to explain the increased inclination to hang on to a registered domain name. However, research points to a number of contributory factors. First, many unused domain names were cancelled during the recession for cost reasons. As a result, there are fewer registered domain names that aren't really wanted and are therefore ripe for cancellation.
Businesses aren't going under nearly as often
Another factor was the general economic climate. Domain names often get cancelled when the related business activity ends, e.g. because the company in question goes under. Annual company insolvencies have almost halved since 2013, weakening that driver of cancellations.
A good summer
It's impossible to say how long the sun will continue to shine on the domain name market. But we can certainly say that summer 2017 was a good one.
