The Klarna Small Business Accelerator Programme brought together experts to our small and medium-size business partners with clear, actionable advice on ways to improve their businesses and attract new customers.
With overseas outpacing domestic sales growth, it’s no surprise that UK e-tailers are keen to click with global consumers. Having helped hundreds of brands enter EU, US and Asian markets, Global-e shares its secrets to boosting cross-border conversion.
British goods are in big demand overseas.
Cool brands, reliable quality and great service make them a popular choice for many buyers. But tapping into this lucrative market is not as easy as it looks. Regulations and import duties are diverse and constantly changing, making it hard to get good results from a single website and a one-size fits all approach.
Don’t be square – think, act, and deliver like a native.
Around one in four shoppers face issues that deter them from making a cross border purchase. Whether it’s delivery and Shipping costs and speed (25%), concerns about not receiving goods (24%), having to pay custom duties and fees (24%), and difficulties in returns (22%).
It’s clear that there’s no one ‘magic bullet’ that retailers can fix to guarantee success. They need to smash lots of barriers at once. One way round this is to internalise any complexity and deliver deep localisation in terms of how you approach individual markets.
Here are seven simple steps that can help you build a great local journey:
1. Customise on-site messages by using geolocation to identify where the customer is logging on from and ensure banners are in their local language. This reassures visitors, speeds emotional attachment, and gets them straight into the product pages.
2. Always display local currencies on product descriptions so browsers know exactly how much things cost, without having to load a basket or go to the checkout.
3. Localise checkouts so address fields correspond with local languages and formats – the less friction the faster customers can buy and the less likely they are to abandon their shopping cart.
4. Remove nasty surprises – guarantee landing costs and ensuring that they include all duty and taxes.
5. Make sure you choose the right payment methods for each country. There are over 150 different payment options including local payment schemes as well as BNPL options like Klarna that can really boost your appeal.
6. Provide shipping options at attractive rates. Make any charges realistic and don’t try to absorb them into your margins. Instead, build the cost into the product price. Or offer different options depending on consumer spend, loyalty, bundles, etc.
7. First time buyers always look at return options. Make it easy for overseas customers to return your product with local and pre-printed labels. Give consumers access to your buying power with commercial rather than consumer pricing for returns. There are lots of variables that impact conversion.
If in doubt, lean on your ecommerce partners. Use their experience and data to find out what works best in each market. Or find out more in our accelerator session here.