Risk and Reward for Online Retailers in Cross-border Business

Going global has never been easier – at least in theory. Cross-border e-commerce offers retailers a world of opportunities, but also pitfalls for the unwary. The Arvato Payments Review is a free resource providing invaluable insights for retailers wanting to expand their online presence into new markets.

Retailers looking to expand their business often lack objective data on local market conditions, as well as guidance on potential risks. It pays to know, for example, that conversions drop by a third if you don’t offer open invoice in Austria.  Or that Germans return up to 50% of online orders, and expect those returns to be free. Or that online fraud rose 167% in just one year in Finland.

The Arvato Payments Review provides these and other essential facts on 14 key markets: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA.

The Review provides a detailed country guide for each of these markets. Each country guide looks at key demographics and financials, the top online retailers, legal requirements, and consumer behaviour and expectations in areas such as delivery and returns. It also goes into specifics including how consumers prefer to pay in each market, identifying the local payment heroes and the optimal mix of payment methods, as well as what types of fraud can emerge and what retailers can do to minimise their exposure. In addition to the country guides, retailers can also compare markets using a variety of key parameters.

Drawing on more than 200 primary sources, it combines extensive quantitative research with expert advice on payments, risk and fraud, and consumer behaviour.

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet,” says Jan Altersten, President of B2C Finance & Nordic Debt Collection at Arvato Financial Solutions. “What works in one market doesn’t automatically translate to another. Get it right and you will sell more. But get it wrong and you will fail. That’s why we have produced the Arvato Payments Review: to give retailers the knowledge and insights they need when entering new markets.”

Jan Florian Richard, Director of BPO Finance at Arvato Financial Solutions, says: “The review combines data from a wide range of research to paint a more balanced and accurate picture than any single source. We have looked at the best sources, compared their findings with what we are seeing from our clients, and interpreted the data accordingly. The Arvato Payments Review gives retailers a very clear indication of the payment methods they should look at, the regulations they should pay attention to, and anything else they need to know to make an informed decision when expanding into new markets.”

The Arvato Payments Review has been compiled by Arvato Financial Solutions, a division of Arvato, and business consultancy mm1.

For more information on the Arvato Payments Review and Arvato Financial Solutions, please visit: http://payments-review.arvato.com and http://finance.arvato.com

Source: Arvato Press Release