Ecommerce in Belgium

Lara Jelowicki Senior International

Ecommerce Consultant 20th May 2014

About Practicology

•  Strategic multichannel consultancy with offices in London and Sydney.

•  Founded in 2009 by experienced retailers Martin Newman and Mark Lewis.

•  More than 100 years of experience in ecommerce between the members of 25-strong team.

•  Offer an end-to-end portfolio of services including strategic consulting, platform selection, site design and content, analytics and insight, international trading and marketing strategy, conversion rate optimisation, trading and digital marketing.

Clients

International Business

•  We support retailers to: •  Scope and assess the opportunities in foreign

markets •  Develop trading strategy, P&L, currency pricing

strategies and review logistics options •  Understand and create a strategy for localisation •  Organisational set up and team structure for

international growth •  Create and execute localised marketing strategies •  Provide outsourced service capabilities for trading

and marketing of localised websites

About Lara

•  Over 7 years of International Ecommerce experience working for well known retailers 

•  I have launched 28 fully localised websites in 8 countries and 6 languages

•  I am now working for Practicology to develop and build an International department

Belgium’s Population at a Glance

•  Population of 11.1 million of high income individuals •  81.3% internet penetration

•  Average online shopper is a man between the ages of 28 and 43.

•  55% of population are active on a mobile

•  Approximately 68% of Belgian companies do not have websites

Belgian Consumer Profile

EU Comparisons

0.0% 5.0%

10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0%

Ger

man

y Lu

xem

bour

g Be

lgiu

m

Ital

y Sw

eden

U

K Fr

ance

Sw

itzer

land

N

ethe

rland

s

Ecommerce % Sales Growth 2012- 2013

Ecommerce Sales Growth 2013

€ 110

€ 40

€ 50

€ 11

€ 2 € 4

€ 10.60 € 5.14 € 0.95

2013 Ecommerce Sales €Billions

UK

France

Germany

Italy

Belgium

Sweden

Netherlands

Switzerland

Luxembourg

Ecommerce Trends

•  Ecommerce sales grew 25.66% in 2013 to €1.91 Billion Euros

•  Expected to surpass €2 billion euros in 2014

•  European cross-border shopping on the rise as a result of law makers creating a single European online infrastructure and regulation

•  25% of orders in Europe in 2013 were cross-border

Cross Border Retail in Belgium

Ecommerce Trends

•  Belgian consumers buy from foreign internet retailers twice as often as the EU average and 10% of shoppers only buy cross border driven by price + availability

•  65% of products searched for are only available via foreign retailers

•  Price is of lesser importance than availability

•  For every €1 exported by Belgium, €1.5 is imported

•  Average online order value is over €100 with 11% of purchases in 2011 over €500

Localisation – Payment Methods

•  Visa, mastercard, Bancontact / Mister cash, Paypal

•  85% of online sales are done using Ogone PSP

Localisation Logistics

•  Localised providers: Bpost, Kiala, DPD and TNT

•  Cost of shipping can range from €3,45+

•  Offering free returns boosts customer confidence but is not required

•  Offering a delivery timeslot is on the rise, but not standard

Logistics Partners

Localisation Languages

•  Dutch / Flemish speakers 56% of population (Flemish)

•  French speakers 48% (Wallonia)

•  Bi-lingual 10%

•  Very small German population

•  Flemish differs from Dutch from Holland. I.e. Shirt in Flemish is “hemd” vs “overhemd” in Holland

•  Localised Belgium sites operate in two languages, Flemish and French. Do not need to provide an English version.

Localised Marketing

•  Search Engine Marketing & Email are primary promotional tools

•  60% of keywords that are being advertised in Belgium are owned by foreign companies

•  50% of companies consider Facebook the best social tool for any social site

•  Due to linguistic complexities it is suggested to have a localised marketing / PR agency

Marketing Channel Importance

Legalities

•  EU member therefore similar laws cross continent

•  Belgium allows for delayed payment of VAT through VAT return therefore eliminating cash flow problems for the customer. However UK company must obtain customers VAT number at checkout and display it on the invoice

•  Standard VAT rate of 21% however reduced rates of 12% or 6% can apply to certain goods.

•  Higher duty costs can be applied on certain imported goods (bikes manufactured in China: 48%)

•  14 day right to cancel

Conclusions

•  High net worth individuals

•  High internet penetration

•  Double digit growth. High compared to EU average

•  Opportunities lie in early entry as industry develops

•  Important to localise language and payments

•  Part of common EU legislation therefore trading laws are common across continent

Contact Details

Lara Jelowicki Practicology 84 Newman Street London, W1T 3EU

E: lara@practicology.com M: 07860 464 894

www.practicology.com

www.Twitter/practicology

Sources

•  UKTI https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-trade-investment

•  E Shop World http://eshopworld.com/

•  Be Commerce https://www.becommerce.be/nl

•  ECommerce Europe http://www.ecommerce-europe.eu/home