Afterblog: E-commerce Innovation Summit 2025 -Outsmart Your Competition
On Thursday, May 15, the second edition of the E-commerce Innovation Summit 2025 took place at Fort de Gagel in Utrecht. NextChapter organised this event with 4 partners (Trusted Shops, Segmentify, ZEO en Reskyt). Here, the thinkers and doers of the Dutch e-commerce world came together to explore the future of online growth. From the next generation Unified Commerce Suite and smart channel strategies to mobile innovation, personalization, and trust—the event offered countless insights and tips to help you outsmart the competition.
Key takeaways per speaker:
1. Stop Sponsoring Google: Spend Your Budget Smarter!
Mariska van de Wiel – Zeo
Mariska opened the day with a powerful message: ROAS is outdated; POAS (Profit On Ad Spend) is the future. Rising advertising costs, declining transparency, and diminishing returns demand a new approach.
Her top 5 tips:
Stop sponsoring Google; start building profit
ROAS isn't sacred. Without insight into margin, POAS, and CLV, you're spending money without knowing the real return.
Diversify your channel strategy
Don’t rely solely on paid ads. SEO, email, loyalty, and community offer scalable growth without skyrocketing acquisition costs.
Invest in your team, not just your agency
Without internal knowledge, you're directionless. Build a learning organization with ownership, data skills, and critical thinking.
Break down silos, align around one customer view
Unify marketing, e-commerce, IT, and customer service. A successful customer experience requires collaboration, not channel rivalry.
Dare to think about tomorrow
Performance matters, but brand, loyalty, and customer value drive long-term growth. Combine conversion with relationship.
The takeaway: “Invest in sustainable growth now instead of patching holes with paid ads.”
2. The End of Traditional Replatforming: Suites as Gamechangers”
Menno Hoek – NextChapter E-commerce
Menno Hoek demonstrated how many businesses get stuck in a tangle of systems, integrations, and custom solutions.
The Unified Commerce Suite offers a way out: a single platform with native modules like PIM, OMS, webshops, CMS, and Connector. The result? Fewer integration challenges, faster implementation, and a scalable, future-proof foundation.
Key benefits:
Highest quality product data via optimized data flow, thanks to native PIM and Connector.
Legacy platform flaws solved within the Suite—ushering in a new generation of Unified Commerce.
Strong complexity reduction: fewer systems, vendors, and custom builds.
Profitable e-commerce: Greater efficiency and lower costs.
Scalability: a Suite evolves continuously, making it potentially your last replatforming.
The takeaway: “Don’t just look at front-end promises—your real growth potential lies in the back-end.”
3. From Click to Customer – How Siebel Juweliers Uses Personalization for Digital Growth
Raymond Vonk & Jerry Coert – Segmentify & Siebel Juweliers
Raymond Vonk from Segmentify shared how they helped Siebel Juweliers shift from a static webshop to a hyper-personalized shopping experience—with tangible results.
Key learnings:
New platforms solve little without true personalization.
AI + real-time data = less manual work and higher conversions.
Smart product recommendations (based on clicks & preferences) directly boost AOV.
The right search experience turns browsers into buyers.
One platform combining search, recommendations, email, and pop-ups gives better data control and installs at record speed.
Siebel has been in consumers' hearts for over 100 years. With Segmentify, that emotional connection continues online—smartly and at scale.
The takeaway: “Still using manual banners, generic blocks, or outdated search tools? Time to truly connect your commerce.”
4. Return of Personalized Trust
Teye Brandsma – Trusted Shops
Teye Brandsma addressed a vital yet often overlooked element of e-commerce: trust. In an era of AI-generated content, fake reviews, and data breaches, trust in online shopping is no longer a given.
Key points:
Trust is shifting: from institutional to personalized.
Distributed trust emerges through reviews, seals of approval, and user experiences.
Innovations like verified reviews and consumer protection are essential to digital trust.
The takeaway: “Help connect people and businesses through trust—because without trust, there's no conversion.”
5. Why a Mobile App Is No Longer a Luxury, But a Necessity
Raymond Vonk & Joachim de Boer – Reskyt & DeOnlineDrogist
Joachim de Boer (DeOnlineDrogist) and Reskyt made the case that in 2025, a native mobile app is no longer a luxury—it’s essential. With 85% of traffic on mobile and low conversion on mobile web, change was needed.
Reskyt’s no-code app platform delivered: the app went live in just 4 weeks, fully synced, no developers required.
Top takeaways:
No-code = fast, scalable, and affordable.
Less friction = higher conversion (stay logged in, buy more).
Push notifications = direct marketing on your customer’s home screen.
Loyalty grows through ease: scan & order in seconds.
App users are your most valuable customers—invest where intent is highest.
The takeaway: “Time to rethink your mobile strategy?”
Final Thought: What Will You Take With You?
The E-commerce Innovation Summit 2025 made one thing crystal clear: growth doesn’t come from spending more, but from making smarter choices. Whether it's about better margins, better tech, or better customer experiences—the future belongs to those who invest in real value.
So... what's your next step?