world (mainly Asia Pacific) accounting for 29 percent average annual growth. ... predicted online retail sales for these
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Checklist for International Success:
What American Retailers Must Know to Go Global
Checklist for International Success
If you are producing desired results on eBay and Amazon in the US, chances are that you have considered expanding beyond your local boundaries to capture the buying power of other countries worldwide. As a US retailer, you face a unique set of challenges for expanding to the global market, but don’t let these challenges intimidate you. With the right strategy and preparation, you can find success in international selling. To better assist you in the process, ChannelAdvisor has compiled the following abbreviated guide to give you a holistic view of how to tackle the complexities of global expansion.
THE GLOBAL OPPORTUNITY Based on industry research as well as ChannelAdvisor results, e-commerce in the European Union (EU) is expected to increase 19 percent per year until 2014. The US will account for an estimated 11 percent annual increase, with the rest of the world (mainly Asia Pacific) accounting for 29 percent average annual growth.
For a deeper dive into the EU breakdown, the UK is the largest online spender, followed by Germany and France. The predicted online retail sales for these specific countries in 2014 are approximately: • UK €40 million • Germany €27 million • France €17 million Based on these predictions, these particular countries are logical targets for beginning an international e-commerce push. The language barrier with any foreign country can be intimidating, but that’s really only scratching the surface of challenges to bear in mind when expanding internationally. There’s also tax and currency considerations, shipping, customer service and much more to take into account.
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Checklist for International Success
FINANCIAL & LEGAL
FACTORS TO CONSIDER: • Payment & Banking • Local Regulations Every country has its own consumer protection laws that guarantee returns within a set timeframe. Be sure to get familiar with each country’s laws as they can vastly differ from the US. • Registering Your Business Do you register locally? • Import Taxes/VAT Buyers may be charged one or both when buying from outside of Europe; the only way to legally bypass this issue is to import the goods yourself, thus either have a branch in the EU or use a fulfillment service.
RESOURCES / TIPS FOR SUCCESS:” • World First UK-based firm that provides services for foreign currency exchange and online transactions. • Smith & Williamson A great resource for US sellers trying to understand the complexities of tax and VAT; Advising capabilities for over 100 countries, including several offices based in the UK. • PayPal • Local Banking Challenges with local banking include language barriers, regulations, as well as many require local addresses to register an account-ask your home bank for a referral. • Moneybookers An online payment solution that works as a payment option on eBay and several other international shopping sites.
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Checklist for International Success
SHIPPING & FULFILLMENT
FACTORS TO CONSIDER: • Shipping Times • Returns • Are they accepted/required? • What is the timeframe? • Are the returns coming in to a localized address? • Delivery Costs • Passed on to the consumer? • Absorbed? • Is order tracking included? • Signature required? • Email Communications (Touch Strategy) • Order acknowledgment • Registration • Dispatch • Delivery delays, etc. • Text Message Alerts • Dispatch • Delivery Date confirmation • What Delivery Options are Available/Offered/Preferred?
RESOURCES / TIPS FOR SUCCESS:” • Amazon – Global FBA Enables retailers to submit items to a single warehouse and then list in multiple countries with all inventory shipping and customer service processes handled by Amazon, creating a convenient international selling experience. This convenience for sellers does entail some costs as retailers are responsible for Amazon’s inventory housing, packing and shipping fees. Also, returned items are deemed “re-sellable” by Amazon and not the retailer. • Opt for Third-Party Fulfillment/Management Companies (Local/International) instead of acquiring multiple contracts with various parcel delivery and logistics services
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Checklist for International Success
LANGUAGE BARRIERS & LOCALIZATION
FACTORS TO CONSIDER: • Website Currency Conversions Lack of localization in terms of currency could cause issues. • Website/Marketplace content translations Unprofessional translations and incorrect use of key terms can cause bounce rates, loss of potential customers, inability to challenge local competitors in a particular market.
RESOURCES / TIPS FOR SUCCESS:” • Acquire Translation Services Through Resources Such As: • InterCultural Elements • LanguageWire • In-house translators
CUSTOMER SERVICE
FACTORS TO CONSIDER: • Timely Customer Communications in the Local Language Essential for successful retailer/client interactions and feedback. • Multilingual customer support team
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Checklist for International Success
RESOURCES / TIPS FOR SUCCESS:” • Don’t cut corners with software-based translator tools at the expense of customer satisfaction. • As with the US, the buyer experience should be a top priority. Having a multilingual customer support team will help improve your international customer experience. • Use native-speaking contractors - billed on hourly basis to take care of customer enquiries. • Provide good FAQs to avoid lengthy correspondence/many customer queries. • For on-the-fly translations use real translators through a service such as LanguageWire.
CONCLUSION In conclusion, if you already have the product and the infrastructure in place, selling internationally is a natural progression to grow your business and sell more. Be sure to plan carefully and only use reputable partners. Also, remember that the more shipping and payment options you can support, the less cart abandonment you’ll encounter. Finally, eBay and Amazon are great places to start your international expansion, but don’t forget about other channels, such as paid search and comparison shopping, that can be equally rewarding.
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ABOUT CHANNELADVISOR ChannelAdvisor is a leading provider of cloud-based e-commerce solutions that enable retailers and manufacturers to increase the scale and profitability of their global sales through dozens of online channels including Amazon, Google, eBay, Facebook and more. Through automation, analytics and optimization, ChannelAdvisor leverages a single inventory feed to more efficiently list and advertise products online, connecting suppliers with shoppers to increase sales. Billions of dollars in sales are driven through ChannelAdvisor every year, and thousands of customers depend on ChannelAdvisor to substantially grow their businesses.
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