Are delivery problems on e-commerce sites caused by "address entry" errors? Three challenges and solutions: delivery costs, returns, and complaints.

​Here are three address-related challenges that the e-commerce industry has raised with GeoTechnologies, Inc..
Two of these cases involved delivery problems due to incomplete addresses, where the correct address could not be obtained, while the other involved fraudulent address data, such as intentionally entered fictitious addresses.

① Increase in delivery costs

Incorrect or incomplete address entries are causing delivery delays, redeliveries, and returns, leading to increased shipping costs. Furthermore, it is increasing the burden on customer support operations, such as handling inquiries about delivery status.

② Decline in customer satisfaction

Inconsistencies in address formatting and the retention of outdated addresses in customer data are causing delivery delays, duplicate direct mailings, and inefficiencies in sales and delivery operations. As a result, this leads to a decline in the customer experience and increased workload for data cleansing.

③ Increase in fraudulent orders and applications

In cases of fraudulent orders and applications, there is an increasing number of instances where fraudulent addresses are not detected. As a result, businesses are suffering losses due to illegal resale, chargebacks, and unpaid invoices.

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There are three reasons.

① Address formatting is not standardized, resulting in variations in how the same address is written

In Japan, addresses can be written in multiple ways, even for the same location. For example, "1-chome 2-ban 3-go" can also be written as "1-2-3". This phenomenon, where the same address is written in different ways, is called a variation in address notation.

The inconsistencies in address notation stem from the unique "complexity" and "ambiguity" inherent in the Japanese language.

In Japanese, various writing systems can be used in combination, including kanji, hiragana, katakana, as well as Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) and Chinese numerals (一, 二, 三). Furthermore, even though they are different characters, such as "の" and "ノ," or "ケ" and "ヶ," they are often treated as having the same meaning, making it possible to write a single address in multiple ways.

For example, "1-chome 2-ban 3-go" can be written in various ways, such as "1-chome 2-ban 3-go," "1-2-3," or "1-banchi 2-ban 3-go." In addition, there are many other factors that cause variations in address notation, such as the mixing of numbers and Chinese numerals, the use of "no", "ke" and "ga," differences in the use of hiragana, katakana, and kanji, and differences between old and new character forms.

Such inconsistencies in address notation can cause the database to recognize the same address as a different address, leading to various operational challenges such as delivery errors, duplicate customer data, and reduced accuracy in identifying fraudulent addresses. Furthermore, if addresses with inconsistent notation or addresses that are difficult for delivery companies to read are registered, it can lead to misdeliveries and delivery delays, potentially resulting in increased costs for redelivery and returns, as well as decreased customer satisfaction.

② Specifying an old address that no longer exists as the delivery address

The challenges with address notation are not limited to variations in spelling. In some cases, administrative changes such as municipal mergers or town name changes can alter the address itself.

When place names change due to municipal mergers, reorganizations, or other reasons, addresses are updated. However, not everyone or any company immediately switches their registered address to the new address. As a result, for a certain period, old and new addresses may coexist, which can hinder the management and use of address data.

For example, following the transition to a government-designated city, some areas of "Urawa City" were changed to "Urawa Ward, Saitama City."

After such administrative changes, data registered with old addresses and new addresses become mixed, making address searches and customer data integration difficult.

Furthermore, using outdated addresses can prevent accurate identification of delivery destinations, potentially leading to delivery delays or misdeliveries. Therefore, constantly updating and normalizing address data is crucial for improving delivery quality and maintaining customer satisfaction.

If you are interested in our address verification service, which corrects inconsistent or outdated addresses to the correct ones, please contact us here.

③ It is difficult to determine whether the address is real or not.

If the shipping address is entered using a free-form input method, it is difficult for the system to determine the authenticity of non-existent or incorrect addresses, increasing the risk of fraudulent orders and misdeliveries.

① Automatically check and correct the shipping address.

If you use a free-form address entry system, inconsistencies in address formatting may occur due to differences in street number notation such as "1-1," "1 no 1," or " Ichome Ichiban," as well as differences in kanji, katakana, and hiragana, and input errors.

Furthermore, if a non-existent or incorrect address is entered, it will require extra effort to verify and correct the address during delivery, which increases the risk of delivery delays or non-delivery.

Therefore, by introducing a selection-based input form that utilizes the address verification service provided by GeoTechnologies, Inc., it becomes possible to automatically verify and correct address information at the time of address data entry, thereby obtaining the accurate delivery address. In other words, it means that address data that conforms to a certain pattern and can be used at the time of acquisition will be entered.

Furthermore, it's very easy and convenient for users, as they can input information such as prefecture, city/ward/town/village, town name, and street number simply by selecting them in order from a list of candidates based on actual address data. The input content is automatically checked, and the data is collected as a unified address format that eliminates variations in spelling and input errors.

This reduces the workload associated with address verification and correction, while also improving delivery quality and enabling smoother customer service.

Thisaddress verification service that can automatically check entered addresses.If you are interested in a free trial, please apply here.

② Detecting intentional fraudulent orders/applications based on address

By normalizing (consolidating) addresses with variations in spelling to identify identical addresses, we prevent intentional multiple orders. Furthermore, by comparing the consolidated addresses with a blacklist, we prevent fraudulent orders.

By utilizing the address verification service to prevent delivery problems and fraudulent orders, you can enjoy the following three benefits:

① Reducing workload through "improved delivery quality"

- Reduce operational burden by automating address quality management, which was previously left to e-commerce site users.
- Prevent delivery problems and fraudulent orders in advance, and reduce cost burden.

② Create revenue opportunities with new added value

- Upselling is achieved by making additional offers to existing customers, such as sending direct mail to the correct address, and LTV (Life Time Value) is improved
- By minimizing delivery problems and other issues, we can prevent damage to the brand image of our client companies

③ Maintaining continued use by improving customer company satisfaction

- Minimize the burden of e-commerce operations and provide an environment where you can concentrate on core business activities
- Reducing support inquiries enables proactive support (anticipatory suggestions)

If you are interested in a free trial ofour address verification service, which automatically checks your address,please apply here.

<Implementation Image>

If you are interested in a free trial ofour address verification service, which automatically checks your address,please apply here.

Automated address entry checks reduce delivery problems by 93%

<Challenges before implementation>

With the expansion of the e-commerce market, there has been an increase in address entry errors and inconsistencies in address spellings by buyers.

Incorrect address entry errors, resulting in shipments to the wrong addresses, and inconsistencies in address spellings leading to address verification inquiries from delivery companies, increased delivery costs associated with redelivery and address confirmation. This led to decreased customer satisfaction due to delivery delays and misdeliveries.

<Reason for adopting>

By implementing GeoTechnologies, Inc.' address verification service and integrating its API into the order form, we can automatically verify and correct address validity during input. This normalizes address data and allows us to obtain accurate delivery address information.

<Effects after implementation>

By preventing address entry errors, we significantly reduced delivery problems. This lowered the time and cost associated with address verification and redelivery, while also improving delivery quality and customer satisfaction.

Address data validity check enables early detection of fraudulent orders

<Challenges before implementation>

With the expansion of online shopping and membership registration services, fraudulent orders and applications made under false identities have been on the rise.
It was difficult to detect fraudulent orders and applications using non-existent or incorrect addresses in advance, leading to an increase in fraudulent receipt and resale of goods, as well as increased operational costs due to the increased workload required to deal with fraudulent activities.

<Reason for adopting>

We have implemented GeoTechnologies, Inc.' address verification service, which automatically checks the validity of address data during member registration and ordering. This has created a system that can detect fraudulent or non-existent addresses early on.

<Effects after implementation>

By enabling the detection of fraudulent orders and applications in advance, we have reduced the risk of fraudulent receipt and resale of goods. This has resulted in a reduction in the amount of damage and verification work, while contributing to the creation of a secure trading environment.

If you are interested in Kakko Co., Ltd.'s system for detectingfraudulent orders/ applications, please contact us here.

GeoTechnologies, Inc.' address normalization service analyzes address data, automatically correcting variations in spelling and input errors, and standardizing addresses to the latest format. For example, it converts "Ushimiyacho 4-1" to "Ushinomiyacho 4-1" and "Gushikawa City" to "Uruma City," correcting old addresses from before municipal mergers to current addresses. It also supports variations in characters, differences in okurigana (suffixes), and addresses containing street names unique to Kyoto City.

Cleansing and maintenance of the address list

・ The address list was normalized to eliminate inconsistencies and errors in the address formatting, and the address formatting was standardized.
・ Update old address to new address
- Batch processing is possible using cloud services or Excel.
- Batch processing is possible using both API and Excel.
- The processed address string and other information can be saved to the database.

Normalizing addresses improves the accuracy of name matching, searching, map display, and latitude/longitude assignment, allowing address data to be effectively utilized in various business operations. By eliminating variations in spelling, input errors, and the inclusion of old addresses, the risk of misdelivery and delivery delays is reduced, resulting in more accurate and efficient delivery operations.

If you are interested in a free trial ofour address verification service, whichautomatically checks your address,please apply here.

To effectively utilize address normalization and geocoding in your business, it's crucial to choose the optimal implementation method based on your purpose, data volume, and how you want to integrate with existing systems. GeoTechnologies, Inc. offers three delivery methods: API integration, batch processing (data is collected and processed), and Excel. Let's look at the features of each.

① Provided via API integration