With the impact of COVID-19, ecommerce has become our primary shopping method. And as global customers get used to it, it may become a permanent shift. Sellers are focusing on acquiring and retaining buyers who have adjusted to the new reality.
During and after COVID-19, retailers must be ready to accept temporary and permanent change. To remain competitive, they must rethink how they serve customers who increasingly prefer a global marketplace. It all comes down to how well you use customer data like addresses. Valid addresses help businesses grow, reduce costs, prevent fraud, and improve customer satisfaction. It’s clear that ecommerce companies are ignoring it.
Poor address data can cause problems for sellers. It can lead to failed deliveries and marketing promotions, resulting in high costs with no return. While these are critical issues, missed opportunities can cascade. Bad customer data can harm customer relationships, stifling business growth.
Considering Address Data’s Potential
Global sellers face both common and unique challenges in this highly competitive ecommerce environment.
Employ third-party address identification to ensure delivery of the right goods to the right customer at the right location.
Include extra address information to reduce shipping costs and avoid address correction fees. Residential delivery indicators help avoid unnecessary costs and ensure accurate address data.
US sellers shipping internationally must be aware of global shipping requirements and costs. Validated address data ensures deliveries arrive at the right door.
Prevent fraud with data tools that efficiently match names and addresses. This method creates an easy way to electronically verify a customer’s identity.
Automate correct information with autocompletion tools that only accept correct data. Manual data entry and its errors are eliminated. Autocompletion improves customer experience and reduces cart abandonment.
Protecting against fraud with address data
In addition, accurate contact information can help prevent credit fraud. Consider that in the US, roughly 47% of online shoppers use credit cards to pay. Chargebacks for fraudulent credit card purchases account for nearly 30% of refunds. Sellers pay over twice as much for fraud ($2.40 for every $1.00), plus the cost of the good, which is rarely returned.
Verified address data helps reduce costs by discouraging fraud. Unverified address data buyers may be restricted to certain payment methods or prevented from completing checkout.
1-10-100 for Ideal Data Value
Integrating data tools and creating automated processes to clean customer data keeps costs down. It also ensures the maintenance of time, effort, data, and customer relationships. The 1-10-100 rule states that the longer bad data exists and permeates errors within a data management system, the higher the repair costs.
You can manage global client data with clean, up-to-date address information. De-duplicating data and building deeper customer profiles with other demographic and social elements are examples of how this can be done.
Address Basics Aren’t So Basic
Verified address information is a critical component of profitable ecommerce. Verified address data works well with other popular data tools like supply chain management, CRM, and ERP. It powers customer service, direct mail, shipping, warehouse management, accounting, and more, boosting sales and a company’s reputation.
Achieving excellence in customer data is a smart opportunity for sellers to differentiate themselves from unreliable sellers.