Address validation:
Optimization of your
e-commerce ordering process

From the customer's point of view, online shopping is easy. A few clicks, quickly enter the address and the parcel should arrive conveniently at the front door in 2 - 3 days. But as an online retailer, you certainly know how many things can go wrong. And sometimes the devil lies in simple things like the delivery address: The wrong zip code, a transposed number, a missing house number - careless mistakes are human and happen all the time. However, address validation comes into play to prevent these from becoming a real problem. Read this blog article to find out exactly what it is and why it is important for your e-commerce store.

 

Table of contents

 

• 1. 1. Simply explained: What is address validation?
     2. Why is address validation important for your e-commerce store?
     3. What about costs?
     4. Conclusion

 

Simply explained: What is address validation?

 

Address validation is exactly what the name suggests: The specified address is checked and, if necessary, corrected. This is done before the shipping label is printed. This can be done manually (which would of course be very time-consuming) - or via an automated tool that recognizes incorrect addresses, points out the error and offers the option of correcting the address manually or fully automatically. This tool can be used either directly in the store at checkout or by the logistics department. 

 

Why is address validation important for your e-commerce store?

 

Eine fehlerhafte Adresse zieht einen riesigen Rattenschwanz nach sich.
Um dies aufzuzeigen, schauen wir uns mal das Beispiel von Max an. 

 

Max has ordered a hat from SampleShop24 for his skiing vacation. In the heat of the moment, he enters 91 instead of the house number 19. At first, everything goes as usual: the parcel containing Max's hat is packed by SampleShop24's warehouse service provider, picked up by the shipping service provider and taken to the nearest sorting facility. Here, parcels are sorted by region and zip code and loaded into the delivery vehicles. Only when the parcel carrier stands in Max's street and sees that house number 91 does not exist does it become clear: something must have gone wrong.

 

And Max's package goes back to the warehouse just before the finish line. Time lost (as of now): 2-3 days.

 

SampleShop24 is only aware of the error when the parcel arrives at the warehouse. Now customer support gets involved and contacts Max, who is already waiting impatiently for his hat. He is going on a skiing vacation tomorrow. As it would take another 2 days to send the hat again, Max would rather get his money back and buy a hat in a local store. SampleShop24 has therefore lost a customer due to the incorrect address. If Max had accepted a new shipment, additional costs would have been incurred. 

 

Letztendlich kommt es bei einer falschen Adresse in jedem Fall zu Mehraufwand, Kundenunzufriedenheit, Geschäftsverlust und Kosten. Die simple Prüfung vor dem Versand ist also wirklich eine super Sache. Darum bieten wir unseren Kunden auch seit Kurzem ein integriertes Adressvalidierungs-Tool an.

 

 

What about costs?

 

Our address validation has a usage-based pricing model that amounts to €0.04 per validation. Billing takes place monthly based on the number of address validations performed. And based on the data available to us, our address validation can reduce the costs per incorrect address by more than 70%. Let's calculate that for you here.

 

→ If a package is sent to the wrong address, you usually have to pay double shipping and logistics fees. Customer support has to spend a lot of time to resolve the situation, if it goes badly, you might even lose a customer due to the bad experience. This leads to direct and indirect costs of at least (!!!) €30 per incorrect address.

 

→ Today, an incorrect address occurs in around one in 200 orders.

Let's do the math: 

 

 

 

So it's worth investing in a good address validation tool!
Want to know how much you can save? Simply do the math:

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

Address validation not only increases customer satisfaction, it also saves costs and enables a smooth address entry process. With our tool, you can stay within your budget thanks to various settings, such as the usage limit, and adjust the use of the feature as required. 

 

This and many other features such as our dashboard and our customer portal enable you to get the most out of your store. Do you have any questions? Feel free to contact us via our chatbot or by email.