On the waitlist? Your first three months are half price. Get early access
Email marketing for online stores in Belgium
Belgium is small on the map and big on detail. Two main languages, its own payment method and its own Sinterklaas date.
Language, payment and delivery
Dutch, French or both
Dutch in Flanders, French in Wallonia, both in Brussels. Flemish customers notice copy that reads as Netherlands Dutch, so have it checked.
Name Bancontact
Belgian shoppers look for Bancontact at checkout. Mention it in abandoned cart emails, next to the other methods you offer.
Say who delivers
bpost, PostNL or DHL, to the door or a pickup point. Put it in the email after purchase so nobody has to guess.
The Belgian shopping calendar
Close to the Dutch calendar, with a few differences that catch out stores selling in both.
- The solden, the sales periods in January and July.
- Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, in May and June.
- National holiday, 21 July.
- Black Friday, late November.
- Sinterklaas, 6 December. Children get their presents on the morning of the 6th, a day later than in the Netherlands.
- Christmas and New Year.
Consent and the rules
The GDPR applies, and Belgium’s ePrivacy rules decide when you may send marketing email.
- New subscribers need clear, active consent. No pre-ticked boxes.
- Existing customers fall under the soft opt-in: similar products of your own, with a clear way to opt out at purchase and in every email.
- Every email needs a working unsubscribe link and must show who is sending it.
- Ask for consent in the language of the customer.
This is general information, not legal advice.
How Unsolve helps
Most Belgian stores send at least two versions of every campaign. Unsolve makes that a habit, not a headache.
- A segment per language, so each customer gets one email in one language.
- Schedule per subscriber time zone for customers outside Belgium.
- Flows for welcome, abandoned cart, after purchase and win-back, in a Dutch and a French version.
- Revenue per email, so you see which language version earns.
Questions from Belgian stores
Can I send one email in two languages?
You can, but it gets long and nobody reads both halves. Two segments and two versions work better.
I also sell in the Netherlands. What changes?
iDEAL instead of Bancontact, PostNL more often than bpost, and Sinterklaas a day earlier. Use a country segment and adjust those lines.
Does the soft opt-in work the same as in the Netherlands?
The principle is the same: existing customers, similar products, an easy way out. Check the details for your own case.
You have enough solutions.
Get the one that takes things away.
