The Unprecedented Rise of Ecommerce

Purchasing goods online is now common for anyone with easy access to a smartphone or laptop. Amazon, Walmart, Alibaba, and other marketplace giants have made online ordering an integral part of our modern lives. In fact, an estimated 2.14 billion digital buyers are expected to buy goods and services in the global ecommerce market by 2021. This number is up 19.6% from 2018 — and the surge is only expected to continue.

Over time, purchasing power has also steadily shifted from the United States and Europe toward Asia. Chinese consumers make nearly a quarter of all retail sales online, whereas e-commerce accounts for less than 10% of retail sales in the US — making it only the second-biggest market for online sales.

Shipping internationally could help you expand your ecommerce brand and enter new customer segments. But it’s essential to first understand the overall market as a first step toward finding where your product best “fits.”

Complexities of Cross Border Shipping

Customers love predictability when it comes to ecommerce. But, unfortunately, selling internationally includes a lot of inherent unpredictability. This lack of predictability can be one of the deterrents keeping smaller businesses from taking the leap into global fulfillment. Here are a few of the top concerns we’ll show you how to navigate:

• Meeting Customer Expectations – It’s unlikely you’ll be able to offer free international shipping. Understand what your customers expect so you can better meet their needs.
• Customs, Duties & Taxes – No matter where you’re shipping, if your package crosses an international border, it is subject to tax. Find out how to better predict your total landed costs.
• Avoiding Product Returns – Shipping labels are costly. And no one wants to pay for things that don’t get used. Luckily, there are ways to help prevent the return of merchandise.

Despite the complications, you can use proven best practices to smooth your company’s expansion into the global market.

Strategies for International Success

You don’t need to be an expert on shipping to be able to master a global expansion, but you should have a solid go-to-market strategy. Let market demand inform what countries you choose to ship to over others, make sure you localize your brand for each market segment, and aim to provide full transparency about international shipping fees to your customers by calculating total landed costs on each of your products.

Having solutions in your back pocket can help eliminate the manual processes. A shipping API is one tool you can use to automate and streamline your shipping workflow and to continue optimizing and saving on fulfillment. An API allows you to integrate shipping functionalities directly between your online store or platform, and the various shipping carriers available around the globe.