Written by Signe Bergström, September 2026
Interview with Anna-Lisa de Boer, Dutch Client Specialist
Entering a new market rarely goes exactly as planned. Consumer behaviour is different and so are the local expectations. Sometimes brands figure that out quickly, but other times it takes longer - and costs more than it should.
It is a pattern we see often. Over the years, we have helped hundreds of e-commerce brands navigate their webshops across markets. And the questions we hear most often are not only about logistics. They are about the things that only become visible once you enter the market and watching the convertion rate.
That is why we have been sitting down with our native specialists - the people who handle customer interactions on behalf of international brands every day. Brands like Sephora and Liewood work with our specialists on a daily basis. Their customer service is handled by the perfect balance between automation, AI and native teams - that are trained in their products and tone of voice.
We wanted to dive into that setup with you. What does it actually feel like to work as a specialist on a specific market? What do you notice that brands miss? What would you tell them before they started?
So let's dive into one of our markets: the Netherlands.
As Anna-Lisa puts it: "They respond much better to an honest answer than to an optimistic promise that does not land. Underpromise and overdeliver."
The operational details you cannot afford to overlook
iDEAL is the standard online payment method in the Netherlands and every Dutch consumer expects to find it at checkout. Not offering it is shooting yourself in the foot before you have even started.
You know the feeling yourself - you are about to buy something, but the only option is PayPal, an account you have not logged into for years. The customer journey that you are on ends with you just closing the tab.
In a market where price sensitivity and competition is high, there is no room for small friction points. It is the small things, added together, that make the difference.
Returns are worth planning carefully before launch, particularly in fashion. Free or very affordable returns are a strong purchase driver, and they come with relatively high return volumes. The cost and logistics of returns is an operational consideration that brands sometimes leave too late.
Bonus:
On sustainability - when it comes to an actual purchase decision, convenience and price tend to win. Getting sustainability right is important, but it is not the biggest decision driver.