How to: using IP geolocation to determine pricing, currency, and shipping policies

From healthcare to ecommerce, customer experiences play an ever-increasing role in revenue growth. What this means is that quality of online services and content really matters.

Like gasoline in a car, IP geolocation data fuels website personalization from start to finish. For instance, not only does this data reveal buyer insights, but businesses can also customize better pathways to site conversions.

Let’s take a look at just three important (but often overlooked) website features that affect revenue streams - pricing, currency, and shipping policies.

How ease of purchase impacts conversions and customer loyalty

Buyers care more and more about effortless purchases than ever before. For instance, a recent study revealed that well over 70 percent of purchases in healthcare, banking, dining, and hotels are directly tied to positive buyer experiences.

And what constitutes a poor experience? According to another study, difficulty checking out leads to nearly 87 percent of online shoppers abandoning their cart.

In other words, customer loyalty is at an all time low, and something as simple as a difficult purchase or shipping experience can result in losing a buyer.  

That’s just one reason companies need to adjust pricing, currency, and shipping policies based on location.

Using geolocation data to reduce friction in the buyer journey

As was already mentioned, a major component of online personalization is accurate geolocation data. More on this later. But for now, know this: pinpointing customers’ location helps companies customize everything website related.

And while there are plenty of use cases for IP geolocation information, here’s how you can apply our data to improve checking out and shipping experiences for your customers.

1. How to show localized currency

Using IPinfo’s geolocation information, companies can discover the country of site visitors. Then, by mapping their currency code to a country, localized currency shows up to website viewers.

On a practical level, here’s how to code geolocation data in PHP to provide localized currency:

function getCurrencyCode($country_code) {
	$currency_codes=array(
		'GB'=>'GBP',
		'FR'=>'EUR',
		'DE'=>'EUR',
		'IT'=>'EUR',
	);
	if(isser($currency_codes[$country_code])) {
		return $currency_codes[$country_code];
	}
	return 'USD'; // Default to USD
}

Google, for instance, provides a currency code index. In other words, with just a few short steps, companies can eliminate a major barrier in the purchasing process and encourage buyer trust along the way.

Need some inspiration? Here’s how other companies have used localized currency in different industries.

H&M

In ecommerce, for example, H&M customizes their currency based on visitors’ location. By way of illustration, a customer in the Netherlands sees a homepage with prices in Euros:

An English-speaking customer in Egypt, on the other hand, gets this page with all currency listed in EGP.

Further still, a buyer located in the United States lands on a homepage with currency listed in dollars.

Accurate geolocation data is what makes this all possible. For a store like H&M to reach buyers worldwide, they have to cater how their prices appear.

N26

Ecommerce isn’t the only industry that benefits from location-based currency changes. Forward-looking fintech companies are also using it to reach more customers.

N26, a mobile banking experience available across multiple countries, uses it to adjust whether their site shows dollars, euros, Swiss francs, and many others.

The visual above, for instance, is how prices are displayed in euros.

In short, online banking platforms use geolocation data to customize users’ experiences across the globe, making worldwide travel and international purchases easier than ever before.

Bupa

Healthcare is one industry that’s ripe for geolocation data that automates personal customer experiences.

Plus, more and more medical innovators are expanding to multiple countries (e.g. MindMaze, Babylon Health, or mPharma who already exist in more than one country), meaning that site adjustments like localized currency really matter.

But as these trailblazers shake up the healthcare industry, IP address data can make buyer experiences more user-friendly and easier to customize long term. For instance, Bupa - a global healthcare organization - has used IPinfo’s geolocation API to do just that.

All this to say, geolocation data makes personalized experiences feasible as industries go global.

2. How to make location-based price adjustments

Location-based price adjustments can boost conversion rates. For instance, if a brand or service is in high demand in one country or region of the world, companies can adapt and increase their revenue.

On the other hand, misdirected discounts can diminish buyer trust.

Michael Kors

Michael Kors’ prices in the US differ from prices in Austria. Take a look at the price difference below for the same handbag.

If these items were priced the same, the US price should be $328 and the Austria price should be €276.44. In other words, Michael Kors adjusts their prices based on different demands or expenses in different regions.

By doing this, companies can protect their bottom line while customizing discounts based on location. Accurate geolocation data is the first step towards these pinpointed conversions.

IKEA

Another site that uses price adjustments to their advantage is IKEA. Check out these price comparisons:

In English-speaking regions, this simple plate is listed as $4.99. But for those purchasing in Mexico, this same plate is 89 pesos, rather than the equivalent price of 101 pesos. In other words, the same plate is less-expensive in Mexico.

All this to illustrate this point: using location data such as country, region, city, or zip code, companies can develop location-based prices.

3.  How to adjust shipping policies for different regions

Shipping policies are another major consideration for buyers. Over 90 percent of customers say that shipping policies directly affect their purchases.

Why else would companies like Amazon develop a business strategy that includes free shipping? Customers care about shipping.

But not every business can sustain the free shipping model. Instead, many offer free shipping to certain regions while charging for other deliveries.

In other words, companies often need a way to clearly communicate shipping policies based on region.

Again, knowing the location of your site visitor enables you to show the correct content they need. Using a geolocation API like IPinfo, site developers easily automate location-dependent shipping policies.

We even offer a guide to help you customize your content based on country. Here’s a sample of what that code might look like:

const request = await fetch("https://ipinfo.io/json?token=$TOKEN")
const jsonResponse = await request.json()

const shippingElem = document.querySelector("#shipping")

if (jsonResponse.country === "US") {
    shippingElem.innerHTML = "Shipping to the US";
} else if (jsonResponse.country === "GB") {
    shippingElem.innerHTML = "Shipping to the UK";
} else {
    shippingElem.innerHTML = "International shipping!";
}

With the help of IPinfo’s API, companies can improve customer experiences while still protecting their bottom line when it comes to shipping policies.

What’s at stake?

The reality is that accurate pricing, localized currency, and correct shipping policies impact consumers’ everyday lives. But from a revenue perspective, losing customers over something as small as inaccurate pricing is a big loss long term.

Revenue

So let’s talk buyer retention and acquisition. By simply retaining 5 percent more customers, businesses can expect to experience 25-95 percent revenue growth.

On the other hand, buyer acquisition is five to twenty-five times more costly than simply keeping the customers you already have. Speaking from a sales perspective, if you’re getting your customers to the checkout, you’ve won half the battle.

Losing your buyer at the checkout is something like losing a bride at the altar. You’ve built too much trust along the way to lose now.

Pinpointing

In short, that’s why accurate IP geolocation data really matters.

If you’re investing in an API that doesn’t regularly improve their data, all the trust and loyalty your sales and marketing teams have developed could be squandered… all because your IP data put the currency in Yuan instead of Euros.

IPinfo, however, prioritizes accurate geolocation information. It matters to us because it directly affects your ROI.

By pinpointing and automating customer experiences, you can improve customer retention while nurturing new leads - a recipe for growth.

Ready to customize your website? Try our free trial today!