Shipping information for international online retail
When you decide to sell your products international, numerous components need to be taken into account if you want to successfully enter the new market. Translation of the website and products in the language of the country, currencies, terms and conditions adapted to the country regulations are strongly recommended for a serious appearance.
Today we will give leads related to shipping information in international online retail, based on Linda Bustos article “7 ways to improve International e-commerce availability” published by Palmer Web:
Have an international shipping page,
rather than an FAQ or a non intuitive help page. Footer menu and top right hand of the web page are proven locations a consumer would easily go to. It is useful if with one page you want to cover multiple countries; an alternative is to have one website per country.
Include important information,
such as return policies, hotline phone number and availability, estimated shipping times, order tracking availability. Local regulations regarding return policies must be observed; clarity and availabilit will increase your customer satisfaction.
Make your shipping policy searchable,
optimizing the use of keywords such as “international” on your website search engine.
Show international shipping availability on product pages,
regarding the authorisation or not of products in certain countries, respecting local regulations.
Convert currencies, weight and measures on product pages,
think for example at the various currencies in Europe euros (EUR), pounds (GBP), swiss francs (CHF) etc…
Estimate shipping costs on your product page,
developing your own grid or using standard API developed by the various shipping carriers. It is key to be also consistent between the information your deliver on your website and the information delivered in the basket during the ordering process.
Send post sale emails,
will show that you care about international business. You will learn also a lot from your customers so do not hesitate to ask for input of what you could propose as a service for international business.
