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Consumer shopping habits and attention spans are increasingly fragmented. Channels are over-saturated, with 80 percent of Gen-Z consumers feeling overwhelmed by their exposure to brands, according to BoF and McKinsey’s The State of Fashion 2025 report.
Consumers are subsequently becoming channel-agnostic. A recent BoF Insights x Amazon Fashion survey found 36 percent of EU5 customers (those across France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK), are indifferent about whether they shop on multi-brand retailers or brand-owned websites. Instead, they move seamlessly from one channel to the next in search of the most cost-effective and convenient shopping experience.
With 72 percent of EU5 customers agreeing that a multi-channel presence makes it more likely for them to shop from a brand, according to the same survey, the need to optimise presence and identity across online and offline channels is critical.
Since its foundation in 2013, branding and e-commerce agency Build in Amsterdam has constructed dynamic omnichannel ecosystems that seek to maximise the user experience through cohesive brand storytelling and connected-commerce.
Build in Amsterdam responds to online shoppers’ growing demand for personalised digital experiences, helping fashion, beauty and lifestyle retailers recapture consumer attention and deliver a seamless integration across channels, in line with customer expectations.
Following its recent acquisition by full-service e-commerce and growth accelerator Front Row, Build in Amsterdam’s capabilities extend beyond translating the look and feel of physical stores into the digital realm. Backed by a deep understanding of consumer shopping habits, the agency now helps brands meet consumers wherever they are — regardless of platform.
The agency develops “digital flagship stores” that integrate customised user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design with storytelling and sales performance. Each element of the online shopping journey is designed to reflect how consumers engage across a brand’s physical and digital spaces, with a level of personalisation that better meets consumer and business needs. Indeed, Deloitte finds that brands excelling at personalisation are 48 percent more likely to exceed their revenue goals.
By designing e-commerce platforms with a modular digital design system — meaning individual elements can be changed on demand, without requiring a complete system overhaul — brands are granted the flexibility to customise at ease, and as required. Fully customised front-end experiences are seamlessly integrated with Shopify’s back-end, allowing brands to preserve their visual and narrative identity while benefiting from the platform’s speed, reliability and flexibility.
Amid endless rented channels —channels where businesses share space, while not owning it, like Instagram — a brand’s website remains the only digital space that can be truly owned. Build in Amsterdam turns it into a centralised hub, the foundation from which a consistent brand experience flows across marketplaces, social media, CRM and physical retail.
Brand partners include the likes of sportswear giant Adidas, Polaroid, and most recently, Swiss luxury ready-to-wear brand Akris. Working with the latter entailed a complete redesign of the brand’s online ecosystem, with the final product — a stripped-back digital experience — reflecting the style of Akris’ offering and brand identity.
As Build in Amsterdam continues to develop online retail ecosystems that tailor offerings to individual preferences, The Business of Fashion sits down with its founder and creative director, Daan Klaver, to learn more about how the agency is helping brands to keep consumers engaged through a unified online and offline experience.
How can brands effectively cater to a typical shopping journey today?
The customer journey is no longer linear. People might research online, check reviews, compare prices on different platforms — and even shop on their phones while in a physical store.
It’s about being where the consumer is. Brands can no longer dictate how or where people shop — the customer decides. The key is to show up in those spaces: whether that’s a brand’s own website or platforms like Amazon, where many of today’s shopping journeys begin. Even luxury brands are embracing this shift because consumers value convenience and service as much as brand storytelling.
Ideally, a brand’s dot-com should serve as its digital flagship — a space to express its identity and narrative — while marketplaces offer reach and accessibility. The two need to work more closely together to create a seamless, connected experience for shoppers.
What does a cohesive e-commerce experience look like today?
A cohesive e-commerce experience today means thinking beyond a brand’s own website. Instead of focusing only on their dot-com, brands now need to consider every channel where customers interact with them — marketplaces, social commerce, apps and more — and develop unified design systems, so the brand looks, feels and behaves the same everywhere a customer encounters it.
The goal is to ensure consistency across all these touchpoints. That consistency builds trust and loyalty — and is what sets successful brands apart. In a cohesive e-commerce experience, the consumer does not feel a difference in brand narrative, representation or quality perception between channels.
Take Build in Amsterdam’s redesign of Akris’ website as an example: the brand is known for its clean architectural lines and the website redesign mirrors that. But, beneath that surface lies a powerful e-commerce engine. Dynamic storytelling sections, countdowns for new collections, “shop-the-look” galleries and interactive product displays work to maximise both engagement and shopability.
How does Build in Amsterdam translate a brand’s physical identity and the nature of its physical stores into a “digital flagship”?
When approaching a brand’s online marketplace with their physical store in mind, the first step is to deeply understand the brand’s identity, character and DNA.
For Build in Amsterdam, this involves studying how the physical store looks and feels — and interviewing stakeholders and staff to learn about the in-person shopping experience. These insights help weave the atmosphere and intimacy of the physical store into the digital space.
At the same time, it’s about recognising the unique opportunities online offers and finding ways to bring those digital strengths back into the offline experience. Through our work we endeavour for online and offline environments to complement one another and feel seamlessly connected.
How does Build in Amsterdam stay ahead in a constantly evolving digital landscape, while meeting changing consumer expectations?
Feedback is a constant part of the process — the work is never static. We continually gather insights from multiple sources — including from client feedback, user data and online interactions — which help us refine and optimise platforms.
We also use a custom tool called Catapult, which ingests live signals across different channels — from a brand’s website, to social shopping, ads and marketplaces like Amazon.
This insight allows us to see how changes in one area affect others. We then learn from those patterns and sharpen performance across both the online and offline experiences. When applied intelligently, this can enable brands to outperform in their market.
What are some of the challenges brands face when orchestrating a true omnichannel experience?
Many brands are simply not structured for a unified omnichannel experience. While the technology and strategy may be ready, brands themselves are often divided into silos — with different teams and departments working towards separate goals, with limited cross-channel visibility.
We have spoken with executives who are hesitant about adopting new technology and workflows that lead to more seamless omnichannel presence, and we have realised the best approach is to show tangible results.
Demonstrating how it works in practice helps make the benefits clear. For example, a design system isn’t just about aesthetics; it is built with code that enables scalability and consistency. It gives brands the tools to maintain cohesion across all touchpoints without needing to redesign everything from scratch.
How do you see e-commerce and digital brand experiences evolving in the next few years?
Over the next few years, connected commerce will continue to shape e-commerce and digital brand experiences. We are witnessing physical and digital channels increasingly merge, and unified ecosystems are reinforcing brand relationships with consumers. To curate brand loyalty, brands will need to construct consistency and integration across every touchpoint.
AI, as it continues to evolve, will likely ensure that each engagement is contextually relevant and seamlessly aligned with the broader brand experience.
For us, this means evolving our e-commerce strategy to create an even more personalised journey that spans every platform. Each touchpoint will adapt to the individual user’s preferences — creating a seamless and consistent experience. At the same time, we are closely tracking how the digital and physical worlds continue to merge, adapting our virtual experiences and product offerings accordingly.
This is a sponsored feature paid for by Front Row as part of a BoF partnership.
