E-commerce in Belgium

Do you want to do business in Belgium and expand your Dutch online store abroad? Then getting started with e-commerce in Belgium is a logical first step. In Belgium, more than half of all online spending involves cross-border purchases, a large portion of which are made in the Netherlands. Although the languages are largely similar, an online store in Belgium requires subtle localization: terms like “showroom” become “toonzaal” and “sale” becomes “solden.” With a scalable e-commerce platform like Clonable , you can manage a Flemish version that automatically stays in sync with your main store, including specific keyword rules. However, there are a number of differences between Dutch and Belgian customers. Read more on this page about the online shopping behavior of Belgians.

Starting an online store in Belgium: How do Belgian consumers shop?

• 92% want the package delivered to their homes

• 86% use track & trace

• 63% think packaging should be recyclable

• 38% prefer sustainable delivery

• 34% expect to buy more from neighboring countries in the future

Figures: Crossborder ecommerce shopper research conducted by the International Postal Cooperation (IPC

Pay and ship to Belgium

In Belgium, people prefer to pay with Bancontact or a debit card; iDEAL is rarely used there. If you want to expand an online store into Belgium, offering Bancontact is essential to prevent abandoned shopping carts. With Clonable , you can easily customize payment methods, delivery times, and specific content blocks for each market without overloading your central backend.

For shipping, you can usually just use the Dutch postal service. The Belgians even find it important that we just deliver their packages through the familiar PostNL network with its service. Since they know this company, it inspires confidence when you send your products with PostNL. This trust, in turn, contributes to the likelihood that people will purchase something from your website.