Take Your eCommerce Business Along the Global Route

As people worldwide have cocooned themselves into their homes, courtesy of a global pandemic, the eCommerce industry has flourished to cater to these audiences. A recent report by Statista shows that the global eCommerce market had hit US$4.206 trillion in 2020, up from US$3.535 trillion in 2019. The growth is unstoppable even today as it is expected to reach US$5.509 trillion in 2021.

However, many eCommerce companies might not be experiencing growth in line with the industry— the primary culprit is the inability to expand their target audience.

Though most business owners know that their eCommerce store has the potential to sell to every corner of the world, they still avoid scaling up their business globally because of the challenges in cross-border logistics fulfillment. For instance, there are over 30 million US companies, and only 1% sell their products and services internationally, according to an eMarketer’s research. The rest 99% of the companies are not tapping into the markets outside the United States. This leads us to an important question -

Why Opt for International Sales?

Here are some reasons why you should go global for your eCommerce business -

• Tremendous sales potential

An essential factor to go global is to add rocket fuel to your sales volume. In developing countries like China and India, the number of consumers who are regularly shopping online is increasing every day due to a dramatic increase in disposable income. You can expand your business to such countries that will serve as an attractive market for your products.

• Defying the calendar

In countries like the US, most e-retailers drool over sales numbers from events like Black Friday and Christmas week. By going global, you can tap into these peak sales cycles in other parts of the hemisphere. This is especially true if you have a seasonal business that derives most of its revenues only in a particular time of the year. By going global, you can effectively double your sales by defying the restrictions put forth by a calendar.

• Make your brand recognizable internationally

Here is a bitter truth— to stand apart from your competitors in the local arena, you need to earn recognition internationally. People value your brand and will buy from you more when they know that you serve people from multiple countries. It shows your brand’s professionalism, eagerness to grow, and capacity to serve customers on a large scale.

How to Make Yourself Ready for International Sales?

We won’t lie. Scaling your eCommerce business internationally is not a piece of cake. If you know what to do, and where to establish, and how to do it, it is certainly achievable. On that note, here are some tips that can help you with your international expansion journey after you create an online store -

• Identify your key markets

Analyzing your target market is the first step to take when going global. Your goal is to determine the countries where your products are in demand, then get to know about your competitors in these markets, and finally analyze the marketing strategies they are using. As we’ve mentioned before, Brazil and India are considered to be the fastest-growing eCommerce destinations in the world. However, they might not always be the perfect choice for popular and locally available products, as there will be already fierce competition from home-grown businesses. Try choosing a country that is closer to you in the initial days— it will save you from high shipping costs.

• Factor in currency exchange

One crucial factor that will directly affect your international sales is the local currency and exchange rates. In the process of receiving money from another country, you are likely to deal with fluctuations in the value of currency exchanges. You need to factor this in your product costs to avoid any major losses.

On top of this, decide whether you will always display the price of the products in your country’s currency or offer a multi-currency dropdown menu on your website for eCommerce.

All this boils down to offering a unified, easy user experience for customers no matter where they are. Many users feel insecure about making an international purchase in another country’s currency, so setting up a convenient way to make this transaction simpler can boost their confidence.

• Localise your content

Not just the currency, you also need to tailor your content based on the country of your target audience. Translating your online profile and product descriptions into the language of your new target audience with culturally sensitive accuracy is crucial while taking the global route. The user interface for your website should reflect the needs of the audience you are targeting. Understanding these cultural and local needs will help you build a loyal customer base in your target country.

• Set up their preferred payment methods

Payments are one of the critical components of any eCommerce store. Most people drop out of purchase during the payment stage predominantly because they were not comfortable with the payment options given. Consumers in different markets prefer different payment methods. You cannot risk losing out on sales just because you didn’t set up a preferred payment option for consumers from other countries. For instance, US shoppers prefer credit cards and mobile wallets (51%), while shoppers from China prefer digital payment methods like Alipay or WeChat pay (92%).

Having multiple payment options can exponentially increase the trust of people in your brand. On top of it, when one payment method is not working, your customers have other options to pay, thereby ensuring that the order is not abandoned.

Final thoughts

Though going global looks as exciting as generating innovative eCommerce business ideas, it needs to be approached with extensive caution and proper planning. A wrong step can be really bad for your business in the form of wasted money and resources. This is where an eCommerce expert like Powerhouse91 can help. With several years of experience under our belt, we have helped hundreds of eCommerce brands to scale up and accelerate their growth in the past. So if you want to add your company’s name to the list of eCommerce companies in India that went global, contact us today.