The ability to buy and sell online has all but eliminated the boundaries that used to separate entrepreneurs from potential new customers. Selling online via your eCommerce store increases your earnings potential and availability of customers by potentially millions. Online shopping has become more mainstream with time, and this development is supported by the 96% of millennials and 81-92% of customers in other age categories who have made online purchases. Australians specifically not only purchase online, but they are leading the trend of cross-border shopping. This means that Australians are more likely to shop online internationally. Since the home market doesn’t hold back when it comes to shopping online at stores based in other countries, eCommerce merchants should follow suit by readying their shops to accept international sales. Making the purchasing and receiving process as easy as possible for consumers will greatly affect your store’s growth potential and profits. Following the tactics below will make your customer’s checkout process as seamless as possible, bringing your product to their door sooner!
Target Effectively
You can’t be all things to all people, especially if you’re a one person show. Before entering new markets, it is important that you think strategically and analyze available data to know which countries are already buying from you and which countries have a large number of potential customers in your target market. The latter is especially prevalent if you work in a very limited or niche industry. Once you understand which countries you want to increase your presence in, you can geotarget your marketing efforts in those areas. Geotargeting involves delivering marketing and promotional content to customers based on their physical location. Location can be determined by a customer’s physical address or IP address from their internet browser.
Currency Conversion is Crucial
When customers are perusing your store, be mindful that they might want to make a purchase in a different currency. You can eliminate customers having to visit an external currency conversion site by adding a currency converter on your product or checkout pages. Better yet, list the prices of your goods or services in different dominations, so there are no surprises.
Easy Payment is the Only Option
Debit and credit card payment options are the standard, but new, innovative ways to pay are popping up left and right. There are many companies that give customers the option of paying from separate online accounts that are linked to a bank account or credit service, such as PayPal, WikiPay, and Xoom. These providers make currency conversion easy for the consumer, while delivering payment to store owners instantaneously. Depending on which countries you are marketing to, or where you already have a customer following, this should dictate which providers you enable your eCommerce store to accept. PrestaShop has compiled a comprehensive list of how customers like to pay in many countries.
Set Realistic Shipping Expectations
If you are shipping internationally, your customers can expect higher shipping costs and longer transit times. Although these issues are largely unavoidable, that doesn’t necessarily mean consumers will react with patience. To counteract their hesitation to incur additional shipping fees and waiting longer to receive their product, consider offering discounts for international customers who make subsequent purchases. You can also add additional small freebies to their order to show you appreciate their business. If you are able to offer digital versions of your product, shipping fees and wait times can be eliminated entirely. If you do have to pay shipping or duty costs, give customers the breakdown of what they are paying for, so they understand where their money is going (not necessarily in your pocket) and reduce the probability that they will back out of the sale because they don’t understand why the shipping fees are so high.
Translation May Be Necessary
While English is used as a common language, that doesn’t mean everyone who comes to your site can speak it fluently or wants to read about the product in a language that is not their native one. While it does cost extra to have product information translated, it is a long-term strategy that can help increase your sales. You don’t need to have your site translated to tens of languages. Instead, concentrate on the top two where your marketing efforts are strongest.
By implementing these tactics and keeping in mind that you should be offering site enhancements for the countries you concentrate your marketing efforts in, you should be ready to start shipping all your sales in no time!
