Address Validation
Did you know that inaccurate address data is the primary reason why orders do not arrive on time ( Magento, 2018)? To increase your delivery rate, Bigblue is now validating all your clients' addresses!
Read this article to get the answers to your questions:
- How does address validation work in the app?
- What do I need to do when an order's status is Action required?
- Why address validation is crucial & best practices
1. How does address validation work in the app?
Before an order is transmitted to the warehouse, Bigblue automatically tries to validate the customer's address. The validation process can lead to 2 results:
- Automatic corrections → We got you covered 😎
If the address has a slight error and the correct data can be identified with certainty by our system, the address will be automatically rewritten (e.g. "Aubervillrs" → "Aubervilliers"). - Order blocked → Action required 🆘
The order won't be transmitted to the warehouse until you make the necessary changes. Some parts of the address cannot be recognized and our system fails to validate the address.
💡See section #2 to learn what needs to be done in this case.
How can I keep track of blocked orders?
Easy! The status of blocked orders automatically switches to Action required, therefore you simply need to:
- Go to the Orders tab
- Click on the orders' Status filter
- Select Action required
- Click on OK
All blocked orders will then appear as follows:
What leads to failed address validation?
- Addresses that cannot be converted to Latin characters automatically
Examples include Chinese, Korean, and Japanese addresses. - Postal codes that do not respect the standard national formats
Countries with standard postal code formats include France, Germany, Great Britain, Belgium...
2. What do I need to do when an order's status is Action required?
As soon as an order is blocked, you will automatically receive a Browser notification mentioning the order's number. If you miss the notification, no worries, you can find it in your Notifications center!
💡The Browser notification option is selected by default for all users for failed address validation. You can choose to receive Email notifications as well if you wish. To learn how to set up your Notifications center read this guide.
- Access the order's page to see the fields that require an action, they will be highlighted in red
- Perform the necessary modifications by clicking on Edit and then Save changes
⚠️ We always advise you to perform the modifications on your e-shop. If you only modify the address on the app, your e-shop's data might override and undo the modification you did.
Once the modifications have been performed, the address will once again go through Bigblue's address validation system:
- If the modifications have been performed correctly, the address will be validated and the order will be transmitted to the warehouse
- Otherwise, you will receive a notification and the process will need to be repeated
3. Why address validation is crucial & best practices
Save huge unnecessary costs with address validation
Failed deliveries due to inaccurate shipping address can significantly impact your business by:
- Reducing your sales due to decreased customer loyalty.
- Increasing your costs since a failed delivery includes refunds, discounts and extra delivery costs.
- Damaging your brand reputation — the essence of your business — since one's customer complaint can reach thousands thanks to online reviews and social media.
⚠️ 40% of shoppers voice complaints on social media after a failed delivery and 56% are influenced by negative online comments.
Yet, 1 in 20 orders never arrive at their intended destination and many retailers don’t have the technology in place to allow them to resolve this issue ( Loqate, 2019).
Reduce failed deliveries due to inaccurate shipping address by following these two golden tips
- Provide a frictionless checkout for your users.
61% of customers would abandon their purchase if they encountered issues entering their address details and 34% would even switch to a different retailer because of this.
💡The main issues customers encounter are unrecognised address formats, the inability to find addresses from a dropdown list, and address formats changing after being confirmed.
- Add a plug-in to prevent invalid addresses.
51% of customers feel more confident in placing an order with retailers who use technology to suggest the right address!
💡Check out some address validation plug-ins for Shopify, WooCommerce, and Prestashop.