Study about Belgian e-commerce: BeCommerce Trends & Figures 2014. Researched with BeCommerce members who represent about 80% of the Belgian e-commerce market.

1. BeCommerce
Figures &
Trends 2014
ECOMMERCE IN BELGIUM
March 2014

2. About BeCommerce
BeCommerce is the Belgian association for companies active in e-commerce.
Through awareness raising, information, promotion, certification of e-commerce sites through
a quality label and its own code of conduct, BeCommerce encourages the further growth of
the eCommerce sector and the strengthening of consumer confidence in distance selling.
BeCommerce counts today 311 e-tailers and 42 business partners.
More info: www.becommerce.be
Belgian E-Commerce Organisation

3. In March 2014 BeCommerce ran a major member survey into the current situation
of e-commerce in Belgium and distance seller expectations for 2014. Focusing on
the expected growth of the industry, most sold products online, logistical services,
payment methods, mobile commerce and new this year, customer service.
I’m glad to announce that the Belgian e-commerce market is catching up with their
neighbours. But there is still much room for improvement and expansion. And this
is exactly where BeCommerce and its partners will provide the necessary support
and knowledge.
Patricia Ceysens,
President of the Board of Directors
Patricia Ceysens
President of the Board of Directors

4. Aim of the study
Study of the current situation in the online distance selling market in Belgium as well as expectations and
trends
Method
o Respondents from BeCommerce database (approximately 600 contacts)
o Target group: Belgian organizations with distance selling activities
o Fieldwork: 26 February – 12 March 2014
Introduction
About the study

5. 66%
5%
29%
18%
82%
76%
0%
24%
24%
58%
18%
Independent Belgian company
Subsidiary of Belgian company
Subsidiary of foreign company
Only distance sales
Both distance selling and traditional
B2C or C2C
B2B
Both consumers and businesses
1 - 5
6 - 50
50 +
Legal profile
Target customers
Type of sales
Distance sales staff

6. General remarks concerning the research
o The figures in this report are based on an online questionnaire about figures 2013 &
expectations 2014, conducted in February - March 2014 during 2 weeks with all the
BeCommerce members
o The figures relate to the sales results of Belgian companies, they are not consumer
figures (consumers buy on Belgian and foreign e-shops)
o Yearly survey
Introduction
About the study

7. 26% 26%
32%
38%
51%
67% 66%
6% 4%
2%
5%
2%
0% 5%
68% 70% 66%
57%
47%
33% 29%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
An independent Belgian company A branch / subsidiary of a Belgian mother company
A branch / subsidiary of a foreign mother company
Distance Selling Profiles
Belgian Company vs. Foreign companyWhat is the legal profile of your company?

8. Distance Selling Profiles
Pure Player vs. Multichannel Player
36%
30% 34%
47% 45% 44%
32%
64%
70% 66%
53% 55% 56%
68%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Pure Player (only online sales) Multichannel player (online & offline sales)
What is your e-commerce activity profile?

9. Distance Selling Profiles
Share of distance selling vs total turnover
What % was your e-commerce turnover vs. your total turnover?
41%
53%
24%
66% 58% 60%
55%
59%
47%
6%
47% 42% 40%
45%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
E-commerce (distance selling) turnover non-E-commerce turnover

10. Distance Selling Profiles
B2C vs. B2B
50%
44%
62%
57%
47%
56%
76%
6%
13%
6%
2%
44% 43%
32%
43%
51%
44%
24%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Only consumers (B2C & C2C) Only businesses (B2B) Both consumers and business
What are your company’s target customers for its e-commerce activities?

11. 73%
45%
50%
59%
50%
60%
32%
22%
12%
19%
24%
19%
6%
12%
18%
11%
9%
22%
12% 13%
25% 24% 25%
0% 0% 0%
2010 2011 2012 2013 Expected 2014
Belgium Western Europe Europe
Worldwide Flanders only Wallonia only
Distance Selling Profiles
Business geography
Where are you selling online?

12. Distance Selling Profiles
Expected growth in e-commerce
Do you expect your e-commerce business to grow?
3%3%
3% 3%
9%
15%
5%
3%
2%
22% 25%
22%
24% 34%
16%
9%
63% 60%
73%
67% 64%
84%
91%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
No opinion Completely disagree Rather disagree Neutral Rather agree Completely agree

13. Total E-commerce Turnover
Total E-commerce turnover in Belgium
What e-commerce turnover do you make in Belgium?
1.52
1.91
2
2012 2013 Expected 2014
Bio €
Bio €
Record turnover growth of
25,66% in 2013 vs 2012,
Expectation for 2014 are
above 2 billion €.
Bio €>

14. Opinions of the Belgian distant sellers
The internet will maybe become the main ordering method in the next 2 years
5%6% 5% 5%
19%
20% 11%
22% 32%
26%
20%
16%
20%
14%
5%
22%
48%
24%
31%
20%
25%
38%
23%
21%
34%
28%
40%
45%
30%
23% 22%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
No opinion Completely disagree Rather disagree Neutral Rather agree Completely agree

15. Opinions of the Belgian distant sellers
The Belgian legislation prevents the growth of my distance selling activities
10%
5% 5% 4%
11% 10%
3%
5%
5% 4%
11% 9%
6%
10% 20%
14%
28%
21% 22%
34%
25% 13%
43%
32%
31% 33%31%
30%
32%
27%
21%
21% 20%25%
20%
25%
11% 11%
5% 4%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
No opinion Completely disagree Rather disagree Neutral Rather agree Completely agree

16. Payment methods
Pure players
0%
59%
56%
58%
67%
80%
88%
5%
57%
43%
43%
57%
71%
86%
40%
34%
40%
40%
57%
79%
96%
Bank-Branded Pay Buttons
American Express
PayPal
IDEAL
Maestro
Bancontact/Mister Cash
Visa, Master card
2011 2012 2013
The share of each payment method is
increasing. Bank branded pay button is
not popular anymore for pure players.
Which of the following types of payment do you offer?

17. Payment methods
All distance sellers
30%
43%
57%
60%
64%
86%
94%
31%
39%
50%
61%
61%
83%
94%
29%
62%
33%
57%
52%
81%
95%
Bank-Branded Pay Buttons
IDEAL
American Express
Maestro
PayPal
Bancontact/Mister Cash
Visa, Master card
2011 2012 2013
Which of the following types of payment do you offer?

18. Payment methods
Average amount per order
6% 5% 2%
8% 4%
11%
6%
3% 6%6% 5%
5%
11%
7%
6% 6%
19%
10% 18%
19%
4%
17%
28%
35%
16%
8%
36%
22%
23%
16%
20%
23%
27% 19%
22%
35%
25% 25%
27%
19%
19%
22%
12%
9% 5%
11% 12%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
n.a. < 15€ 15€ - 30€ 31€ - 50€ 51€ - 100€ 101€ - 200€ 201€ - 500€ > 500€
What is the average amount per order?

19. Payment methods
Share of distance selling turnover vs total business turnover
13% 15% 16%
24%
19%
33%
29%3%
5%
9%
7%
11%
7% 2%
5%
6%
6%
16%
19%
5%
12%
13%
5%
9%
5%
2%
17%
11%
22%
35%
20% 11%
15%
17%
18%
22% 13%
14%
4%
9%
20%
13%
14%
11%
13%
20%
13% 16%
21%
6%
18%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
I prefer not to answer < 50.000€ 50.000€ - 125.000€ 125.000€ - 500.000€ 500.000€ - 1.000.000€
1.000.000€ - 5.000.000€ 5.000.000€ - 10.000.000€ 10.000.000€ - 25.000.000€ > 25.000.000€
6%

20. Payment methods
Number of transactions in relation to orders
22%
10%
23%
30%
19% 22%
6%
3%
7%
6%
17%
6%
6%
10%
5% 5%
2%
6%
5%
5% 5% 17%
11%
3%
14% 8%
11%
6%
6%
16%
25%
9%
8%
13% 11%
18%
44%
50%
39%
43%
32% 33%
64%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
I prefer not to answer < 500 500 – 1.000 1.000 – 5.000 5.000 – 10.000 10.000 – 25.000 > 25.000
How many e-orders are placed?

21. Payment methods
Number of transactions in relation to parcels
25%
15%
23%
38%
19% 22%
6%
3%
5%
9%
5%
12%
11%
18%
3%
10%
2%
3%
2%
9% 7%
5%
19% 17%
18%5%
11%
3%
11%
11%
6%
13%
15%
5%
8%
9% 11%
18%
47% 50%
43%
38%
28% 28%
35%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
I prefer not to answer < 500 500 – 1.000 1.000 – 5.000 5.000 – 10.000 10.000 – 25.000 > 25.000
How many e-parcels are placed?

22. Payment methods
Online transactions
6%
12%
0%
6%
6%
18%
52%
21%
16%
0%
5%
10%
16%
32%
20%
7%
2%
18%
11%
13%
29%
I prefer not to answer
< 500
500 – 1.000
1.000 – 5.000
5.000 – 10.000
10.000 – 25.000
> 25.000
in 2011 in 2012 in 2013
52% of online transactions are above
25.000 in 2013
How many online transactions?

23. 65%
55%
35%
20%
0%
10%
73%
46%
30%
23%
0%
9%
65%
38% 38%
19%
3%
16%
60%
45%
32%
34%
11%
9%
63%
37%
42%
16% 16%
10%
71%
41% 41%
18%
12%
12%
Via postal services Courier (e.g. UPS, TNT,
DHL, …)
Through pick-up points
(e.g. Kiala, Mondial Relay,
…)
Through a private
transport service
Other None of those
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Delivery methods
Delivery to the end user
3%
Which delivery methods?
Pick-up points are gaining more attention in
the last two years

24. Delivery methods
Logistics service providers
18%
14%
12%
12%
24%
12%
39%
59%
16%
10%
10%
21%
21%
21%
37%
58%
21%
13%
15%
9%
19%
21%
26%
64%
Other
Mondial Relay
DHL
UPS
DPD
TNT PostPakketService
Kiala
Bpost
2011 2012 2013
Bpost is still most used logistics carrier
Which logistics carriers did you work with?

25. Delivery methods
Time slot delivery
6%
12%
22%
60%
0%
16%
21%
63%
2%
13%
17%
75%
Via locker network
Via Pick-up points
Via Delivery at Home
No Time slot delivery
2011 2012 2013
Do you use Time Slot delivery? Which do you offer?
The locker network is coming up next to
Pick-up points.

26. 12%
6%
13%
13%
6%
44%
6%
none needed
> 10 working days
5 working days maximum
3 working days maximum
2 working days maximum
The day after the order
Same day delivery
2013
Delivery methods
Fastest delivery timeWhat is your shortest offered delivery timing?
Half of the delivery times happen on either
the same day, or the day after the order has
been placed.

27. 17%
33%
50%
2013
This year Later Never
Delivery methods
Track & Trace Service
62%
38%
2013
Yes No
Offer Track & Trace service Introduce Track and Trace service

28. Delivery methods
Free Delivery Policy for Physical Products
84%
16%
2013
Yes No
Offer a free delivery service
100%
2013
This year next year Later or never
Introduce free delivery service

29. Delivery methods
Free Return Policy for Physical Products
62%
38%
2013
Yes No
Offer free return policy
40%
20%
40%
2013
This year Later Never
Introduce a free return policy

30. 38%
23%
31%
8%
2013
This year next year Later Never
E-Customer Service
Chatbox service
19%
81%
2013
Yes No
Offer a chatbox service Introduce chatbox service

31. 10%
60%
30%
2013
This year next year Later Never
E-Customer Service
Free Helpline
38%
62%
2013
Yes No
Offer a free helpline Introduce free helpline

32. Communication mix
All distance sellers
18%
28%
35%
12%
18%
12%
18%
24%
6%
12%
18%
18%
6%
6%
24%
12%
12%
18%
24%
12%
18%
18%
29%
12%
12%
12%
29%
17%
12%
28%
35%
29%
53%
59%
18%
5%
35%
41%
41%
24%
47%
6%
29% 29%
6% 6% 6%
11%
Direct mail
(via post)
Direct mail
(via e-mail)
Internet
banners
Search engine
optimization
(SEO)
Search engine
advertisement
(SEA)
Radio TV Affiliate
Marketing
Price
comparison
sites
Other (e.g.
offline
advertising)
Not applicable Not very important Not important Neutral Important Very important

33. Communication mix
Social Media All distance sellers
12%
35%
24%
12%
18%
6%
18%
12%
18%
18%
6%
29%
29%
29%
34%
35%
23%
18%
12%
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Other
Not applicable Not very important Not important Neutral Important Very important
The importance of social media keeps growing
with Facebook being the most important channel
5%

34. 6%
6%
6%
8%
9%
12%
12%
12%
14%
15%
16%
17%
17%
19%
20%
23%
24%
30%
35%
5%
5%
6%
6%
21%
21%
13%
13%
21%
21%
16%
21%
19%
26%
21%
32%
26%
36%
37%
DIY
Foods & Drinks
Books, E-books & magazines
Telecom
TV's
Games
Financial services
Tickets:
Health & beauty
Garden utilities
Office supplies
DVD's/ Bluray's
Tourism including airline…
Software
Kitchen appliances
Toys
Multimedia & hardware
Home décor
Clothing & accessories
2012 2013
Top products
2013
Which of the products/services below did your webshop(s) sell?
The top 5 products:
1: Clothing & accessories
2: Home décor
3: Multimedia & hardware
4: Toys
5: Kitchen appliances

35. 18%
27%
37%
0%
9%
9%
36%
18%
27%
9%
0%
9%
48%
28%
10%
5%
8%
3%
No plans to start with
mobile selling
> 1 year
< 1 year
< 9 months
< 6 months
< 3 months
2011 2012 2013
Mobile commerce
2013
15%
42%
55%
85%
58%
45%
2011 2012 2013
Yes No
Engaged in Mobile Commerce?
When are you planning to start with mobile selling?
2013 is the breaking moment:
55% of webshops are engaged
with mobile commerce. This is
almost 4 times more than in 2011.

36. Mobile commerce
Reasons not to start with m-commerce
9%
0%
18%
0%
73%
0%
9%
9%
18%
45%
13%
3%
25%
13%
55%
Other
Too expensive
Too early
No particular reason
Other priorities
2011 2012 2013
Non-m-commerce users
mainly still have other
priorities
Why didn't you start yet with m-commerce?

37. Mobile commerce
Mobile application vs. mobile website
29%
86%
38%
88%
50%
100%
Mobile application Mobile website
2011 2012 2013
Do you have mobile application(s) and / or a mobile website?
Every webshop engaged with
mobile commerce owns at least a
mobile website. In addition half of
them own a mobile application.

38. 33%
60%
66%
0%
38%
75%
0%
50%
100%
Windows
Android
iOS (Apple)
2011 2012 2013
Mobile commerce
Supported Operating Systems for mobile applications
Android and Windows
are seriously challenging
iOS for the first time.
Which Operating Systems does your mobile commerce
applications support?

39. Mobile commerce
Reason to start with mobile commerce
33%
66%
50%
66%
0%
25%
50%
75%
14%
43%
71%
43%
We wanted to be the first on the market (innovation)
We wanted to prove real added value to our customers
To generate additional e-business
To provide an additional service to our customers
2011 2012 2013
Which is the most important reason to start with mobile?
Additional service and real
added value to customers are
the main reasons to enter
mobile commerce.

40. Mobile commerce
IT development & Results
43%
75%
16%
57%
25%
84%
2011 2012 2013
Internal IT development External IT development
57%
75% 75%
43%
25% 25%
2011 2012 2013
Yes No
Mobile commerce maintains
75% satisfaction among the
webshops.
Internal vs. external IT development
Are the results of your M-commerce satisfying?

41. Mobile commerce
Top products 2013
Books, E-books & magazines
Garden utilities
Kitchen appliances
Tickets
Financial services
Multimedia en hardware
Health & beauty
Toys
Tourism including airline tickets
Home décor
Clothing & accessories
2013
Which of the products/services below do you sell on mobile?
The top 5 products:
1: Clothing & accessories
2: Home décor
3: Tourism including airline tickets
4: Toys
5: Health & beauty

42. Mobile commerce
Smartphone mobile payments 2013
17%
33%
67%
67%
83%
Diners
Paypal
American Express
Mastercard
Visa
2013
Which types of mobile payments do you offer on smartphone?

43. Mobile commerce
Mobile Advertsing
3%
8%
11%
12%
17%
24%
28%
36%
50%
52%
62%
Other
Offline TV
Offline In store
advertising
Brand Bannering
Offline Radio
E-mail campaign
Public Relations
SEO
Offline Print
SEA
Social Media
2013
For the launch of your mobile commerce activity, which
advertising did you use?
Top 3 advertising methods for
launching mobile commerce:
1: Social Media
2: SEA
3: Offline Print

44. Mobile commerce
Mobile turnover vs e-commerce turnover
49% 50%
17% 17%
17%
33%
2012 2013
0-4% 5-10% >10% No turnover
17%
What % of your total e-commerce distance selling turnover is
your Mobile turnover?
Mobile commerce turnover
above 10% is 2 times
higher than in 2012.

45. Mobile commerce
Share of tablet turnover vs smartphone turnover
28%
35%
72%
65%
2012 2013
Smartphone Tablet
What % of your total mobile turnover is your tablet turnover?
The smartphone’s share
increases by 7%.

46. 13%
27%
11%
22%
9%
4%
7%
2%
4%
0%
43%
11%
5%
16%
3%
14%
3%
5%
12%
37%
7%
21%
7%
9%
5%
2%
0%
11%
21%
26%
21%
11%
0%
5%
0%
5%
0%
27%
20%
33%
7%
13%
0% 0% 0%
1 2 TO 5 6 TO 10 11 TO 20 21 TO 50 51 TO 100 101 TO 250 251 TO 500 > 500
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Employment
Number of people per company active in e-commerce
How many people in your company are working for your online business?
Top employment categories:
1:11 to 20 people engaged in
e-commerce
2: 2 to 5 people
3: 6 to 10 people

47. Employment
Needed profiles
49%
32%
19%
5%
27%
70%
41%
26%
4%
19%
60%
32%
11%
0%
11%
73%
47% 46%
20%
Online marketers IT specialists Customer service Logistics operators Photographers Others
2010 2011 2012 2013
87% of the distance
sellers has plans to hire
new employees this year.
Top 3 categories:
1: Online marketers
2: IT specialists
3: Customer service
In which department are you planning to hire people this year
to boost your e-commerce activity?

48. 5%
5%
8%
13%
19%
51%
Germany
France
Wallonia only
The Netherlands
Flanders only
Belgium
2013
Employment
Employment geography
Where is your whole e-commerce team located for your Belgian sales?
78% of e-commerce
employment is active in
Belgium.

49. 12%
0%
6%
13%
69%
Never
Later
Next year
This year
We already have a
team in Belgium
2013
Employment
Employment movement
When are you planning to move part of your team to Belgium?
Already 69% of the e-
commerce players have
a team in Belgium and
13% plan to start with a
Belgian team this year.