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The newly launched E-commerce Barometer 2019 confirmed a positive trend in Belgian e-commerce. The Belgian e-commerce market accounted for no less than 8.2 billion euros of online revenue in 2019, representing a sharp increase of 17% compared to 2018. This significant growth trend first set in 3 years ago. Due to strict measures limiting offline operations in response to the current corona crisis, we expect the number of online sales to grow even faster. But how does our performance compare to our neighboring countries? Our neighboring countries are also on a growth trajectory. A look at the table below tells us that we still achieved a stronger growth percentage compared to some neighboring countries, which means that Belgium is certainly on the right track. This positive trend clearly shows that e-commerce is becoming a fully-fledged part of the economy and therefore has a significant impact on it. It has changed the overall profit and cost structure of companies and brought about a shift in the interaction and engagement between buyers and sellers.

Events are canceled, schools have suspended classes and (most) physical stores are keeping their doors closed: social distancing is the new black. As the COVID-19 virus spreads rapidly throughout Europe and within Belgium, companies are compelled to take responsibility and adapt to the situation. But what's the impact of the virus commotion on e-commerce? Julie Luppens, one of the e-commerce experts at The House of Marketing, expects e-commerce in Belgium to boom these next few weeks/months, partly due to various actions online businesses are taking. We first look into those measures, before discussing 3 trends identified in the recently launched E-commerce Barometer 2019 – and how they will evolve in times of COVID-19.

With COVID-19 spreading rapidly through Europe and Belgium, businesses are increasingly impacted.  In light of this evolution, we're sharing an update on measurements from our side.​ Since March 3rd, we’ve put the following actions into place, in addition to governmental regulations: ​

The fourth edition of the E-commerce Barometer – unique because it maps out the online landscape using transaction data – shows that the Belgian e-commerce market grew in 2019 by more than 8 billion. This is an increase of 17% over 2018. For the first time, 25% of turnover was sold to foreign shoppers. In 2019, the number of online merchants also increased by more than 29,000. This is an increase of 20%.

La quatrième édition du Baromètre E-commerce (2019) montre une croissance du marché belge du commerce électronique. Le Baromètre cartographie le paysage en ligne de notre pays de manière unique en se basant sur les données transactionnelles. Le marché belge de l’e-commerce dépasse désormais les 8 milliards de chiffre d'affaires, soit une augmentation de 17 % par rapport à 2018. Ce chiffre d’affaires est le fait d'acheteurs étrangers pour 25 %. En 2019, le nombre de commerçants a franchi la barre des 29.000, soit une augmentation de 20 %.

De vierde editie van de E-commerce Barometer – uniek omdat die het Belgische online landschap in kaart brengt vertrekkende vanuit transactiedata – toont aan dat in 2019 de Belgische e-commerce markt groeide tot ruim 8 miljard, een stijging van 17% ten opzichte van 2018. Voor het eerst blijkt dat 25% hiervan verkocht wordt aan buitenlandse shoppers. In 2019 steeg ook het aantal online handelaren tot meer dan 29.000, een verhoging van 20%.

There are literally hundreds of trends in e-commerce, from new ways to host your e-commerce platform to delivering goods with automated drones.

Get to know your customer! There are no two ways about it – this has become a bit of a mantra for modern-day companies. Customer-centricity has continued to grow in importance and has shifted from being useful to being a necessity. Although it’s heard loud and clear, it seems easier said than done: In practice, only 53% of Belgian marketers claim they are succeeding in putting the customer first (YMS). On the other hand, a lot of companies like to pretend that they know their customer. But really knowing your customer means you have to discover what they want, how they want it and when they want it. More than knowing your customer, you should be able to understand them.

Have you ever considered giving a voice to your brand? Can you imagine how powerful it would be to have a conversation with your customers at home, in their car and everywhere they go? New technologies have brought new opportunities for brands to improve the services offered to their customers and become more customer-centric. Voice technology is one that wields a strong impact. Read on to discover why your brand should adopt a voice strategy today.

Voice technologies embrace the digital world by giving new opportunities to brands and added value to customers. And it doesn’t look set to stop in the near future. In fact, opportunities continue to grow massively as customers come round to the idea. Seeing the impact, following and, for some, even creating the wave is becoming indispensable for brands. Let us take you through the main steps you need to follow to roll out a voice strategy.