bpost evolving into the preferred support partner for online stores with growth potential
Monday 20 September 2021Strong growth in supply and demand in e-commerce last year. 42% of currently operating Belgian online stores opened in 2020, which corresponds to around 52 new openings a day (versus 14 in 2019)*. bpost helped 1400 local retailers take their first steps in e-commerce with elkezaakonline.be/touslesmagasinsenligne.be, which launched in June 2020. The platform shifts up a gear this month as it rolls out a wider, more personalized range of services to small and mid-sized enterprises that already have an online store or are thinking about opening one.
The pandemic has seen the people of Belgium adopt online shopping in huge numbers. bpost delivered more than 700,000 parcels on the busiest days during the end-of-year period 2020-2021. And e-commerce continues to grow. Local small and mid-sized enterprises are perfectly placed to reap the benefits through their own e-commerce activities. bpost aims to provide even greater support to help them do just that.
Since the launch of elkezaakonline.be/touslesmagasinsenligne.be in June 2020, bpost has helped 1400 local retailers take their first steps in e-commerce.A recent study** revealed that 83% of current users of the platform are satisfied or very satisfied. That said, bpost identifies huge potential for higher digital sales at most online stores. Users say that a lack of time is the main obstacle to a more professional website. Additionally, 65% of SMEs with an online store or plans to open one say they don’t have all the online marketing tools they need to attract new customers. More than half of the respondents (53%) say they could use more digital marketing advice.
From interesting content…
bpost aims to capitalize by upgrading its elkezaakonline.be/touslesmagasinsenligne.be services. The platform was originally focused on providing technical and content support to enable SMEs to take their first steps in launching an online store. Many more services are now being added, both for start-ups and for businesses that already have an online store. First and foremost, the elkezaakonline.be/touslesmagasinsenligne.be platform presents lots of interesting content providing support, knowledge and inspiration to retailers on topics they are concerned about. Those include how to set up an online store, which sales channels to choose, SEO advice, online marketing, how to optimize shipments and returns, what consumers expect in terms of parcel delivery and much more. Additionally, bpost has developed a program of free monthly practical webinars, each specially designed to give retailers all the information they need to tackle the most common challenges.
… to personal advice
Each retailer can also book a free one-hour session to get personalized advice from an e-commerce expert. They analyse the existing online shop together and the expert listens to the specific challenges and difficulties. Based on the interview, the expert draws up a plan to take the online store to the next level. This personalized approach is highly appreciated by the users.
References:
*E-commerce Barometer 2020 by The House of Marketing and SafeShops.be
**Ipsos study commissioned by bpost, conducted in January and February this year, with 50% Elkezaakonline/Touslesmagasinsenligne users and 50% retailers who do not use the platform (speakers of both Dutch and French).
