With the arrival of Brexit and the resulting changes in cross-border trade, one of the most discussed subjects for online sellers is shipping DDP to EU.In the wake of Brexit and how it has affected cross-border trade, one of the biggest topics discussed among online sellers is shipping DDP to EU.
For UK eCommerce brands, the delays and unexpected import taxes and the resulting confusion were a common occurrence in the past. Now, more and more small businesses are looking to Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) shipping to make things easier.
All duties and taxes are paid at the point of shipment with DDP shipping UK to EU, your package will not be charged for any hidden fees at the door.
What Does DDP Shipping Mean?
DDP means Delivered Duty Paid, which means that the seller, not the buyer, is responsible for import duties, VAT and customs clearance.
For a UK to EU ecommerce business, this translates to a customer paying the price they owe at checkout, which is the price they pay.If you’re a UK to EU ecommerce business, for you, this means that the price that the customer pays at checkout is the price that they actually owe.
No follow-up customs invoices, no packages that are “held” in Customs, and no confusing paperwork for the buyer to deal with.
The reasons behind the current shift:
With the new UK-EU trading rules being implemented, a lot of small businesses noticed the number of abandoned carts skyrocket when they had to notify their customers that “duties may apply at delivery”.
Stoppers don’t like uncertainty and if there’s uncertainty at the border, it’s a direct impact on the conversion rate. Brands that did so have reported a reduction in refused shipments and fewer customer service tickets due to customs. That can be huge for small teams that don’t have a logistics team.
The Customer Experience Advantage
E-commerce thrives on the importance of trust, and there is nothing that destroys trust quicker than a package stuck in customs with a piece of paper attached that contains an unexpected bill. If a small business takes care of them frontward, the check out knowledge will be like what customers are accustomed to in their own orders:
One price, one payment, no follow-up payments. It can be particularly beneficial for emerging brands aiming to cultivate EU shoppers, as a seamless first delivery is often a key factor in the decision of whether or not that shopper will make another purchase.
Budgeting Issues for Small Businesses
Keep in mind that this is not without cost; duty and tax costs are often incorporated into the price or shipping costs of the seller. This can be much easier for smaller businesses that don’t need to estimate duties by country in the EU for each shipment, as they can work with a shipping partner or fulfillment provider who has pre-calculated rates.
In the past, it was hard for small retailers to find many ecommerce platforms that would accept plug-and-play integrations, but that’s no longer the case.
Here are some helpful hints to get you started!
The first step for businesses contemplating the move should be to carry out an audit of their most frequent destinations in Europe and check the VAT and duty rates for the products they sell. From there, the addition of a shipping solution that automates tax calculation at checkout eliminates a lot of friction.
A small number of orders can also be tested before an order rollout, helping to detect pricing mistakes early in the process before many customers are affected.
Conclusion
The benefits of this shipping solution for UK e-commerce brands and small businesses selling to Europe are simple fewer delivery issues, more customer satisfaction and a seamless checkout process without unexpected costs later in the game.
It’s likely this will become the norm over the UK-to-EU ecommerce shipping as more sellers focus on a smooth cross-border experience.
