If you have an online store in the Netherlands, chances are you want to sell to foreign consumers one day. The Dutch ecommerce market is very promising and mature, but at the same time it has of course a limited scope. What ecommerce platforms in the Netherlands could help you sell cross-border?
Lightspeed eCom (previously: SEOshop)
Maybe the most popular ecommerce platform in the Netherlands is Lightspeed. The name may sound familiar to Canadian or US readers, but that's because the Canadian company acquired ecommerce software provider SEOshop in November 2015 and rebranded this software to Lightspeed eCom. Thanks to the acquisition, SEOshop customers can now run an omnichannel store more easily, as Lightspeed has lots of experience with its retail POS system.
The history
The company that's now called Lightspeed in the Netherlands has experience with selling ecommerce software for eight years now. SEOshop was founded in 2008, two years after founders Ruud Stelder and Dennis Cuijpers started to sell electronic cigarettes online. From the start, their online store was a success and it was directly available in multiple languages. The online store was very user friendly, because there was only one action needed in order to update all eleven shops. In 2008, the two entrepreneurs started SEOshop so more retailers could use their ecommerce software.
Number of customers
The company claims there are currently over 35,000 entrepreneurs who use their software. In the Netherlands some big companies, such as Philips, Van Gogh Museum and dance event Dance4life, are clients of Lightspeed eCom. The ecommerce software is clearly focused on medium- to large-sized companies. It does have some smaller clients, but their features and updates tend to be more directed towards bigger online retailers. Lightspeed eCom can be seen as an affordable competitor to Magento Enterprise.
The costs
Lightspeed's software-as-a-service platform can be used for free for 14 days. If you want to continue with the software there are three different pricing packages. The Basic version costs 49 euros per month, the Advanced package costs 89 euros, while Professional costs 189 euros per month.
| Basic/Essential | Advanced | Professional |
|---|---|---|
| 250 products | 5,000 products | 15,000 products |
| 1 user account | 3 users account | Unlimited user accounts |
| Sell nationally | Sell internationally | Sell internationally |
| €49 p/m | €89 p/m | €189 p/m |
Mijnwebwinkel/MyOnlineStore
Mijnwebwinkel, which is Dutch for ‘my online store', is another popular ecommerce software provider in the Netherlands.
History
Mijnwebwinkel was founded by Alex Pansier in 2005 with the goal to make sure everyone can create a successful online store. The ecommerce solution launched a total rebrand in August 2015, changing the logo, corporate identity and even the pricing model. The backend was renovated as well and the online store was made mobile ready. With the change, Mijnwebwinkel increased its focus on foreign customers with their English website MyOnlineStore.
Number of customers
Mijnwebwinkel claims to have over 30,000 online merchants who use their software. Together these merchants represent over 1.5 million transactions a year.
The costs
Mijnwebwinkel offers a free online store, which has all features, but you can only sell up to 25 products. For 19 euros per month you will get the Pro edition, which of course also has all features, but also offers an unlimited number of products, custom domain and email address and more.
| Free | Pro |
|---|---|
| 25 products | Unlimited number of products |
| - | Custom domain & email address |
| - | Optimized for search engines |
| - | No MyOnlineStore label |
| €0 | €19 p/m |
CCV Shop (previously: Biedmeer)
CCV Shop is another popular ecommerce platform in the Netherlands. The name is quite new, as it was previously called BiedMeer (which literally translates as “offer more”). The software solution provider was acquired by CCV in March 2014. CCV is a European player in electronic payment solutions since 1958 and acquired BiedMeer so it could also offer omni-channel solutions. The paid plans of CCV Shop include CCV Pay, the company's own payment solution which offers customers popular payment methods such as iDeal, credit card, Bancontact and PayPal.CCV
History
BiedMeer was founded by Randy Marcus and Bas Boudrie in 1999. After years of national growth, CCV acquired the company and changed its name into CCV Shop. Since January 2015, BiedMeer is no more and the new CCV Shop fits perfectly with the other CCV solutions. Thanks to the acquisition, CCV Group is now able to offer its over 200.000 European SME customers an opportunity to also have an online presence with their store.
Number of customers
CCV Shop claims to have over 35.000 online stores in the Benelux region running their ecommerce software. CCV Shop is active in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Switzerland.
The costs
CCV Shop offers three different prices for its ecommerce software. There is a free version, with gives you the opportunity to sell a maximum of 25 products. The Medium version costs about 20 euros per month and the Large edition costs almost 40 euros per month.
| S | M | L |
|---|---|---|
| 25 products | 50 products | 15,000 products |
| .ccvshop.nl domain name | Own domain name | Own domain name |
| 500 MB data traffic | Fair use policy data traffic | Fair use policy data traffic |
| No support | Support via phone/mail | Support via phone/mail |
| €0 | €19.95 p/m | €39.95 p/m |
header image courtesy of Jochem van der Veer
Henoch is the editor for Ecommerce News Europe. This is an English-written blog that focuses solely on the ecommerce industry in Europe. Every weekday they keep their readers up-to-date with interesting news, handy facts, insightful interviews and more.
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