Amazon did not yet have a Belgian website, but consumers could already order products from you via the French, Dutch or German website. What exactly will change for them?
Fact: “We focus on a local shopping experience by offering numerous Belgian brands. On the Amazon.com.be home page you will find a link to a section of the site that offers a selection of typical Belgian products from small and medium-sized businesses. As a Flemish, I am very happy to be able to highlight the Belgian entrepreneurial spirit in this way. By the way, the first product we sold when the website launched was tea from a brand from that Belgian shop window.
“Plus, you can now use Bancontact to pay for all your purchases and subscriptions. With the Prime subscription, which costs € 2.99 per month, you are entitled to advantageous delivery conditions and access to thousands of films and series that we have also adapted to our Belgian customers. For example, we subtitle or duplicate the videos in Flemish, French and English where necessary. Of course, we also offer the familiar features our customers have come to expect, such as next day delivery for over 4 million products. This is all just the beginning. We keep improving “.
Amazon.nl has been around since 2020, Amazon.fr since 2003. Why did it take you so long to come to Belgium? Is there room in the Belgian webshop landscape for another major player?
“I don’t think it took long. I think now is the right time. We were lucky that customers found us anyway. But customers were indeed increasingly demanding a more local experience. Furthermore, there is now also a clear hunger among Belgian entrepreneurs. Last year alone, 6,000 Belgian web shops were launched. They were constantly wondering how they could reach more customers. In this sense, Amazon can be an opportunity to grow. Through us they can reach millions of users in Belgium and beyond. ”
Will you now start a fierce price war with other websites like bol.com?
“We are not very focused on competitiveness and what other sites are doing. I am very focused on what the customer tells us. When building the website, we looked at what customers wanted on the French and Dutch site. I strongly believe that if we keep our eyes on what customers want, they will give us a chance and hopefully trust us. We will offer them the lowest price we can offer. We rely on what we think is the right price for a product. Since we have a large selection, we can always find the right product for them. ”
Surprising: Amazon.be takes you to an insurance company’s website. The fact that your name is Amazon.com.be is to put a stop to the celebration, right?
“I’ve been used to amazon.com.be for a while now, because I’m so involved in my daily life. And I think it’s a nice name. Customers found us on Amazon.fr, Amazon.de and Amazon.nl, which are in principle not obvious domain names for Belgians. I am convinced that customers will find us on this too. Furthermore, around 50 percent of Belgian users use the app. They don’t even need the URL for that. I don’t think it will be a challenge. So no, we’re not even actively trying to change that domain name. ”
