What SafeShops does

SafeShops, doing business as Becom, is a Belgian non-profit e-business federation founded in 2012 and headquartered in Brussels (Markiesstraat 1, 1000 Brussel). It serves as the recognized industry body for Belgian webshops operating across B2B, B2C, and D2C models, providing the Becom Trustmark \u2014 an e-commerce quality certification label that verifies webshop reliability and compliance with Belgian consumer protection standards \u2014 alongside add-on compliance modules (Security Scan for vulnerability assessment, Cookiescan for GDPR/cookie compliance), an Academy for training and events (Friday Snacks webinars, professional courses, Becom Summit, Becom Awards), a Labs research division producing the annual E-commerce Barometer, a Wiki knowledge center, and an Advocacy & Legal service that represents member interests at local, national, and EU government levels.

The underlying technology consists of a certification platform paired with security and cookie-compliance scanning tools, supplemented by an extensive content library of white papers, checklists, webinar recordings, podcasts, and blog articles. The organization publishes its research on its own digital channels and on a multi-channel footprint spanning Spotify, YouTube, B2B/B2C newsletters, and social media, with distribution handled primarily through self-service digital enrollment on becom.digital and event-driven acquisition at the Becom Summit and Becom Awards.

Becom's revenue model is built on recurring membership subscription fees paid by Belgian webshops seeking Trustmark certification, training, and advocacy representation. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is likely quote-based. The entity operates with a lean team of 1\u201310 employees and reports no funding rounds or external investment, consistent with its non-profit federation structure. Customer concentration is diffuse, drawing from a broad base of Belgian e-commerce businesses across diverse verticals including consumer appliances (Miele), photo products (Pixum Belgi\xC3\xAB), and construction/DIY (klium.be). The broader Belgian e-commerce market reached 17.4 billion EUR in annual consumer spend according to Becom's own research.

Name

SafeShops

Legal name

Becom

Website

https://safeshops.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SafeShops, operating as Becom, is the Belgian e-business federation providing Trustmark certification, compliance scanning, training, research, and policy advocacy for Belgian webshops across B2B, B2C, and D2C segments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

E-commerce Trust & Certification

akta.pro primary industry

Marketplace & E-commerce Trust & Safety (Listings, Sellers, Reviews) (BPAAALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Product Safety, Consumer Protection & Market Surveillance Cooperation (BPADANAN)

Keywords

• E-commerce trustmark
• Online retail certification
• E-business federation
• Web shop security
• Belgian e-commerce association

Headquarters

HQ city

Antwerp

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Federation membership fees for Belgian web shops seeking to join the e-business community and gain access to Trustmark certification, training, and advocacy services.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

SafeShops (now operating as Becom) is the Belgian e-business federation that certifies and supports online shops operating in Belgium. It provides a trustmark label, security and cookie scanning services, training, advocacy, and legal guidance to help e-commerce merchants build consumer trust and operate in compliance with Belgian and EU regulations.

Product overview

SafeShops operates as a Belgian e-business federation providing a platform of interconnected services for e-commerce quality and professionalism. The core offering is the Becom Trustmark (e-commerce quality certification label), supported by security and compliance tools (Security Scan, Cookiescan). Additional services include Academy (training/events), Labs (research), Wiki (knowledge base), and Advocacy (lobbying). The federation also publishes annual research (E-commerce Barometer) and hosts awards programs (Becom Awards). Members receive access to the trustmark badge system, research insights, educational content, and representation in policy discussions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SafeShops Trustmark (now Becom Trustmark) A recognized quality label displayed by certified Belgian online shops, signaling to consumers that the webshop meets defined trust, legal, and security standards. Issued to e-commerce merchants operating websites targeting Belgian consumers.
• Security Scan

Quantifiable outcome

• Belgian consumers spent 17.4 billion euros on e-commerce in the past year

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• MieleminorOthersEnterprise customer holding the Becom Trustmark certification, demonstrating compliance with Belgian e-commerce quality standards.
• Pixum BelgiëminorOthersPhoto products company holding the Becom Trustmark certification, rated 7.8 based on 3447 customer reviews.
• klium.beminorOthersConstruction/DIY webshop holding the Becom Trustmark certification, rated 9 based on 6098 customer reviews.
• Flo FéaminorOthersWinner of the Becom Diamond Award 2025, recognized for excellence in Belgian e-commerce.
• RootsumminorOthersWinner of the Becom Diamond Award 2025, recognized for excellence in Belgian e-commerce.
• BaunatminorOthersWinner of the Becom Diamond Award 2025, recognized for excellence in Belgian e-commerce.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• IMRG: UK-based online retail industry association providing research, events, and member representation for digital retailers — a similar federation model applied to a different national market (UK vs. Belgium).
• Fédération du e-commerce et de la vente à distance (FEVAD): French e-commerce and distance-selling federation offering research, advocacy, and trusted-trader initiatives to French online retailers — structurally analogous to Becom in Belgium but for the French market.
• Bundesverband E-Commerce und Versandhandel (bevh): German e-commerce and mail-order trade association — analogous federation model providing advocacy, market data, and industry events for German online retailers, comparable to Becom in structure and remit.

Broad incumbents

• OneTrust: Large-scale trust intelligence and privacy/compliance platform; overlaps with Becom's compliance scanning products and represents a well-capitalized alternative that webshops could adopt instead of federation-issued tools.
• Ecommerce Europe: Pan-European umbrella e-commerce federation representing national associations; comparable in mission (advocacy, research, industry representation) but broader in geographic scope and policy remit than Becom's Belgian focus.
• TrustArc: Privacy and compliance management platform that competes with Becom's Cookiescan and Security Scan add-ons at a more enterprise scale, including GDPR and consent capabilities relevant to webshop members.

Emerging players

• Cookiebot (Usercentrics): Cookie compliance scanning and consent management platform; directly overlaps with Becom's Cookiescan product and represents a more productized, scalable competitor in federation-style compliance tooling.

Direct peers

• Trusted Shops: European trustmark and certification provider for online shops, offering the Trusted Shops seal, buyer protection, and review collection — a direct functional analogue to Becom's Trustmark, but operating across multiple European markets rather than just Belgium.
• Thuiswinkel.org (Thuiswinkel Waarborg): Dutch e-commerce association and trust-mark issuer with a near-identical federation-plus-trustmark model to Becom/SafeShops, serving as the Dutch counterpart and a likely cross-border benchmark and competitor.

Others

• Safe Online Marketplace Alliance (SOMA) / EuroCommerce e-commerce working groups: European retail and commerce bodies that operate adjacent to national federations like Becom, providing policy advocacy and market intelligence at the EU level — a peer in advocacy and research remit, not in product.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=dEsyi0yL5gY&list=PLUtCjoEtKA_jnl977C0zUMU-ARDgohJzW
• Xx.com/Safeshops_be
• Facebookfacebook.com/Safeshops.be
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/safeshops-be

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SafeShops