xpate CEO Mihails Safro shares his view on how sellers entering new markets can surpass consumer’s expectations.

Today, consumers no longer fear online purchases and are ready to shop with a seller 10,000 miles away just as much as with a local business. Two years ago, cross-border payments held a 24% share of the entire e-commerce activity in Europe, a 14.4% annual surge from 2018. In 2020, the pandemic accelerated the growth of online payments, including international purchases.

Everything above means that customers continue to demand more, thus pushing the development of cross-border e-commerce further. That’s good news for sellers – with a rising demand comes an opportunity, and that opportunity can’t be left behind. However, sellers can’t get away with just selling – they must understand how to present themselves in the new market, get more conversions and deliver unforgettable user experiences.

Well, the nut seems too hard to crack…or is it? In this article, you will find tips and tricks on how to walk the right path and seamlessly sell your goods in the new region.

Localise Everything!

Number one rule – dive into regional specifics, and learn about payment methods people use. 59% of the Dutch use the iDEAL app for money transfers, while Italians adopted Paypal and Postepay. These small details make a massive difference. Let people pay in their currency, and find a local payment processor that you can consult on local payment methods.

Comply with local laws

Sellers operating abroad must be aware of PSD2 and its Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) conditions. SCA is an EU regulation forcing any transfer over €30 to be verified through a two-factor method. If your enterprise operates within EEA, then SCA is the first thing you must understand in and out.

SCA’s goal is to reduce online fraud. However, that’s fly without drawbacks. Consumers who just want to pay without multiple steps, such as one time passwords through call or message, are unable to receive the simplicity they desire. Hence, the rate of shopping cart abandonment is on the rise.

To make things easy, implement a 3D Secure solution. The system allows sellers to send information much faster to the issuing bank that needs it to verify the payment. The more data a seller shares, the higher chance of transaction approval.

Optimise Your Mobile App

Barriliance’s analysis uncovered an ugly truth – 86.65% of customers leave shopping carts with no final payment. Now, as e-commerce is about to hit $3.56 trillion in 2021, it becomes evident that sellers are losing out on fat profits on an unoptimised mobile shopping experience.

The mobile payment process is the first thing that must be in line with the user’s expectations. That can mean a bunch of things – better checkout pages, a variety of payment options, etc. While that might seem scary, it’s not – in some cases, it’s enough to redesign a payment form and make all the fields clear and usable, like the field for submitting CVC (we all faced its complete absence at some point). It might also mean something else, like letting users save the card details for future payments.
Let’s get back to basics – a fantastic payment processor will have the skillset to make the mobile payment process smooth and easy, leaving you with skyrocketing conversions.

E-commerce Changed Consumer Behaviour Forever

International trade is a goldmine for the bravest. Yet, it’s a rocky road – consumer expectations of mobile shopping have never been higher.

Let’s wrap it up. In order to sell, a seller must study their prospective customers and submit to their demands. That means mobile optimisation, localisation and throughout knowledge of local laws.

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Merchants, especially smaller merchants, will need help to navigate the complexities of cross-border commerce. At xpate, we pride ourselves on bringing the personal touch to our relationships with clients. We have a huge amount of expertise and we’ll give you the love you need to help your business find success and growth in whichever new market you go into.