You might be in a position where your business is doing well in the UK, or you might already be trading in a few countries internationally; whatever the size of your business, or whereever you are on your international expansion journey, our top tips for cross border eCommerce will help you along the way.

1. You might be in a position where your business is doing well in the UK, or you
might already be trading in a few countries internationally; whatever the size of your
business, or wherever you are on your international expansion journey, our top tips
for cross border eCommerce will help you along the way.
1. Do your research
Know the markets you are looking to expand into, get to know
your consumers’ needs and expectations, consider trends,
cultural needs, communication, payments methods and delivery
preferences.
2. Establish a strategy
Are you going to test the water by trying local online
marketplaces? Are you going to take a phased country approach?
Try adding worldwide shipping to your current website first, and
then establish local sites.
Top tips on Cross Border eCommerce

2. For more information contact:
export-experts@wnDirect.com
3. Take a market-by-market approach, and identify a strategy based on your key
markets
Different countries require different approaches - this includes things such as pricing,
to delivery options. Expectations vary greatly across the globe, and to be successful
you need to offer services your consumers trust and which are familiar to them.
4. Consider local and cultural differences
Look at whether the sale of your products will be affected by different
seasons. If you translate make sure it is localised. A car manufacturer
once had the slogan ‘every car has a high quality body’ until it was
translated to ‘every car has a high quality corpse’!
In addition, it isn’t just about localised translations, as cultural
meanings vary as well. A well-known nappy brand soon realised
consumers in Japan were confused by the image of stork on the
packaging, as in Japanese folklore, peaches bring babies to their
parents!

3. 5. Shipping internationally means dealing with different Customs, Duty and
Taxes
There are platforms available which can help calculate duty, taxes and request
appropriate ID for your international shipments in real time, making the consumer
experience easier and more consistent. Look into your options - such as DDP
(delivered duty paid) and DDU (delivered duty unpaid) and decide what works best for
your business, and your offering to that market.
5. Shipping internationally means dealing with different Customs,
Duty and Taxes
There are platforms available which can help calculate duty, taxes and request
appropriate ID for your international shipments in real
time, making the consumer experience easier and
more consistent. Look into your options - such as DDP
(delivered duty paid) and DDU (delivered duty unpaid)
and decide what works best for your business, and your
offering to that market.

4. 6. Consider different payment options
For example, in China, Alipay and Tenpay are the most popular, in India bank transfers
are common, the Japanese use Konbini’s, Germans favours Giropay, and in the
Netherlands iDeal is top for consumers. Other options include eWallets such as
PayPal and Qiwi and cash on delivery (popular in South America and MENA). Look at
each market you are targeting and what the consumers are familiar with.
7. How will you handle returns?
Our own research suggests 62% of international consumers say the returns policy
of a retailer affects their purchasing decision, so having a returns strategy is vitally
important. In the international sphere, Germany especially is known for its high
eCommerce return rates - with some reports suggesting 50% of all orders are
returned, whilst many consumers expect free returns as standard. Options for
consideration include consumer paid, retailer subsidises cost of return, or retailer pays
in full. Consider consolidating returns in country to reduce costs.
For more information contact:
export-experts@wnDirect.com

5. 8. Choose the right partners!
There are so many elements to bear in mind when
selling cross border online. There are partners
you can trust to manage every element of the
eCommerce and eDelivery journey, or just part of
it! This doesn’t mean that your partners have to
provide all these services in-house: many have their
own networks to deliver seamless experiences to
retailers and, by extension, your end customers.

6. wnDirect enables retailers to realise their
international potential by providing managed
logistics solutions which overcome the
challenges of global expansion. By redefining
international eCommerce delivery, we enable
retailers to ‘go global’ with a range of dynamic
solutions that have been tailored specifically for
eCommerce.
For more information contact:
export-experts@wnDirect.com