Why Mechelen businesses are investing in custom e-commerce platforms
Mechelen is a commercial centre in Belgium home to about 87,000 people, and one of the places where we build custom e-commerce platforms for local businesses.
Key sectors include biotech and tech campuses, with business districts such as the city centre and tech campuses.
Logistics are supported by Between Brussels and Antwerp, which matters when you promise customers fast delivery.
Belgium has SMEs make up 99% of all businesses in the European Union (European Commission). Belgian shoppers expect bilingual Dutch/French stores and Bancontact at checkout. Many still buy from Dutch and French sites, so local stock and fast delivery are a real edge.
Shoppers and trade buyers in Mechelen already compare options on their phones; a custom e-commerce platform that loads fast, shows accurate stock and accepts Bancontact turns that research into orders.
Localised for Mechelen, not translated into it
A store that works in Mechelen respects local habits as well as local law. These are the details we configure first.
Currency and pricing
The store speaks euro: EUR amounts from product page to invoice, so Mechelen buyers never convert in their heads.
Language and content
Content can be produced in Dutch, French and German, so a Mechelen customer reads the store in the language they use at home.
Local trust signals
We add the payment logos, courier names and policy pages shoppers in Mechelen recognise: Bancontact and Visa and Mastercard and delivery through bpost.
Domain, phone and contact
Using .be where it suits you signals a local business to shoppers and search engines. Click-to-call and WhatsApp buttons use the +32 calling code so customers reach you without dialling errors.
Talent and partners nearby
Mechelen draws on Thomas More University, which means plenty of local staff, interns and technology partners to run the store after launch.
Designed to your requirements, not a template
If you run a business in Mechelen and want to sell online, we build an e-commerce platform and mobile application to your exact requirements, from the first product page to the last delivery update.
In Mechelen we typically work with enterprises with complex catalogues, multi-brand groups, businesses outgrowing SaaS platforms and companies migrating legacy stores, and with sellers in categories such as fashion, electronics, food and chocolate and home that have strong online demand in Belgium.
We start with a requirements meeting, show you a working demo within 24 hours, and only then propose scope, milestones and budget.
What your custom e-commerce platform includes
These are the building blocks of a custom e-commerce platform. We scope them with you, so you pay for what your Mechelen operation needs.
Custom workflows
Product configurators, made-to-order flows, approvals, contracts and industry-specific rules. Pages, search filters and wording are tuned to how people in Mechelen look for products, in Dutch and French if your audience needs it.
Headless architecture
API-first commerce with a fast front end, so web, app, kiosk and marketplace channels share one backend. Catalogues come in from spreadsheets, ERP exports or supplier feeds, so your Mechelen team keeps its current way of working.
Multi-entity operations
Multiple brands, companies, warehouses, currencies and tax registrations on one platform. Payment steps are built around Bancontact, Visa and Mastercard and PayPal, the options shoppers here already trust.
Deep integrations
ERP, PIM, WMS, CRM, POS, accounting and legacy systems with reliable, monitored data sync. Delivery can be booked through bpost, PostNL Belgium and DPD or dispatched by your own riders around Mechelen.
Migration
Move from older platforms with product, customer and order history, SEO-safe redirects and parallel runs. Stock can be held in Mechelen or anywhere in Belgium, with pickup and local-delivery options where they make sense.
Performance and security
Caching, CDN, load testing, security hardening, audit logs and cloud infrastructure as code. Revenue reports by product, repeat buyer and delivery area of Mechelen guide stock and marketing decisions.
Checkout and payment methods for Mechelen
Shoppers in Mechelen rarely abandon a cart over price alone — they leave when their usual method is missing. Here that means Bancontact, Visa and Mastercard and PayPal, then Payconiq, Apple Pay and KBC/CBC Pay.
Provider approval, settlement time and fees differ by business type, so we shortlist gateways with you, then wire up status updates, refunds and reconciliation in EUR — card details stay with the provider.
Zone-based payment rules let you offer different options for the city centre than for outer parts of Mechelen.
- Apple Pay
- Visa and Mastercard
- Bancontact
- PayPal
- KBC/CBC Pay
- Payconiq
Delivery and fulfilment from Mechelen
Your custom e-commerce platform can book shipments and share tracking with bpost, PostNL Belgium, DPD, GLS, DHL and Mondial Relay, or route orders to your own riders and stores across Mechelen.
Delivery rules can price by distance, weight, postcode or zone, offer same-day slots in dense areas, and switch on pickup points or click-and-collect where customers prefer them.
Connectivity in the area — Between Brussels and Antwerp — makes regional and national dispatch from Mechelen practical.
Rules Mechelen sellers must respect online
For Mechelen sellers, tax first: Belgian VAT is 21% standard with 12% and 6% reduced rates; B2B e-invoicing via Peppol is mandatory from 2026.
On privacy we design around the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ePrivacy rules on cookies and marketing consent, enforced by the Belgian Data Protection Authority; on consumer rights the store reflects the EU Consumer Rights Directive (14-day withdrawal right), the Digital Services Act and, from June 2025, the European Accessibility Act for online shops and Book VI of the Code of Economic Law.
Controls we implement include compliant invoices, consent capture, policy pages, restricted staff access and audit trails. Please confirm the final legal and tax position with a local adviser in Mechelen.
Owning your channel in Belgium
For a Mechelen business, Bol, Amazon (FR/NL/DE), Coolblue and Zalando are useful shop windows — but fees, ranking changes and shared customer data limit how far you can grow on them alone.
NNT Mart gives you a channel you own: your domain, your customer list, your pricing and your brand. Where it helps, we connect product feeds and orders from marketplaces so stock stays in sync and your team works from one dashboard.
Businesses that use NNT Mart in Mechelen
Popular online categories in Belgium include fashion, electronics, food and chocolate, home, beauty and books. Local demand in Mechelen is shaped by biotech and tech campuses, so we often design catalogues and B2B ordering around those sectors. In Mechelen, we most often build custom e-commerce platforms for:
Enterprises with complex catalogues
Catalogue, pricing and fulfilment rules designed for enterprises with complex catalogues in Mechelen, connected to the systems you already use.
Multi-brand groups
Multi-brand groups get headless architecture plus deep integrations workflows tailored to their operations.
Businesses outgrowing SaaS platforms
We map how businesses outgrowing SaaS platforms sell today and digitise it end to end — from enquiry and order to payment, dispatch and repeat purchase.
Companies migrating legacy stores
For companies migrating legacy stores, we usually start with migration, then add POS and store systems once orders are flowing.
Regulated sectors
Catalogue, pricing and fulfilment rules designed for regulated sectors in Mechelen, connected to the systems you already use.
High-traffic retailers
High-traffic retailers get performance and security plus headless architecture workflows tailored to their operations.
Add a mobile app for Mechelen customers
Because the platform is API-first, customer, staff and partner mobile apps can be added at any point without rebuilding the backend.
Apps are published under your own developer accounts and share the same backend as your custom e-commerce platform, so offers, stock and orders are always consistent between web and mobile.
Order alerts, offers and abandoned-cart reminders go out on Mechelen time (UTC+2), in Dutch and French if you want.
- WMS and 3PL systems
- SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics and Odoo ERPs
- BI and data warehouses
- Search engines (Elasticsearch, Algolia)
- Identity and SSO
- Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
- POS and store systems
- PIM and DAM
Integrations above are examples; we connect any system that offers a suitable API, database access or approved import and export process.
A phased launch plan for Mechelen
We launch the journeys that create value first, then add depth. A typical roadmap for a custom e-commerce platform in Mechelen:
| Phase | What goes live |
|---|---|
| Foundation | Architecture, core commerce, priority integrations and migration. Configured for EUR, Bancontact and bpost from the start. |
| Differentiate | Custom workflows, configurators and automation. |
| Optimise | Performance, new channels, apps and continuous enhancement. Reviewed against how Mechelen customers actually buy. |
We track page load and API response times, uptime, order-sync accuracy, manual-work hours saved, release frequency and total cost of ownership on a live dashboard from day one, so Mechelen results are visible, not promised.
Working with our team from Mechelen
Our team covers UTC+2 — 3h 30m behind India (IST) — through three 8-hour shifts, so a Mechelen client always reaches someone during the local working day.
Project communication is in English; storefront content can be produced in Dutch, German and French. You get a named lead, direct engineer access and an NDA if you ask.
Our head office is in Chhapi, Gujarat, with an office in Hyderabad and representation in Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia and Zambia; Mechelen clients are served remotely with on-site workshops when the project needs them.
