Toys and games are big business. In the UK alone, the toy industry rose from £4.9 billion in 2013 to over £7.1 billion in 2021, with £1.38 billion made from toys for toddlers alone.
Find out more about how Asendia's supports toy stores with international shipping services
It’s no surprise then toyshops, online and offline are seeing excellent returns with loyal local customers making purchases at physical stores and websites.
But how can you make the most of selling online to reach audiences across the world? Here are some top tips.
How can toy e-tailers sell more to international shoppers?
To reach an international market, first of all you need to be accessible.
The easiest way to do this is to get your web shop set up with the likes of Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento and eShopWorld.
The main reason for this is they have been doing for years and know the best way to help your online presence stand out. They’ll each have different options and benefits, so do your research to make sure you find the right fit, but whoever you choose will make your life a lot easier.
For example, they’ll be able to calculate shipping costs based on your parameters and the location, add any taxes at check out and even charge the customer in their local currency.
You’ll also find that they can often integrate with your own systems, so you get low stock alerts, or even inform a third-party shipping provider (if you use one) to pick, pack and ship the order based on the customer’s requirements.
You can find out more about each of them, and others, on our insights pages.
There will be a few other things to consider too, which we’ll look at as you read on.
Case study – The Entertainer
As one of the largest toy retailers in the UK with an average of one new store opening every month, the company has firm core values; It donates some of its profits via its charitable wing, The Grant Foundation, named after its founders. It doesn’t trade on a Sunday. It only sells toys with real play value. It takes recycling very seriously.
Whilst The Entertainer has a profitable business in its shops, it has a fast-growing, multichannel operation – a large percentage of its total sales are now made via its website, www.thetoyshop.com. Whilst sales are growing in France and Germany, the company plans to tap more markets in Europe, both east and west, through its online business.
They came to Asendia in 2012, for an efficient cross-border parcel services for its French customers with whom they want to be seen as local and with more control on the logistics of its business at seasonal peak times.
Asendia offered Priority Mail (e-PAQ Standard) and Colissimo (e-PAQ Select), a French parcel delivery service with excellent brand recognition. Colissimo is the market leading solution in France and is provided by La Poste, one of Asendia’s founding partners.
Asendia manages the whole distribution, tracked and non-tracked, for their French customers, with Colissimo offering a number of delivery options that are a ‘must have’ in France.
The Entertainer now experiences less complaints, they have happier customers and are already looking at using further Asendia services. We work very closely operationally for the peak season and furnish The Entertainer with a personalised collection plan to meet their needs.
To see if Asendia can do the same for you, get in touch.
What do toy e-tailers need to know when shipping internationally?
Once you’re set up to sell, you then need to consider how you’re going to get your orders to your customers. Board games aside, toys and games, aren’t a consistent size and shape so packaging is the first consideration.
You’ll need to source packaging that is both easily adaptable to various sizes, durable to protect the product (especially as some may be fragile) and cost effective so you’re not eating up all your profits on cardboard and sticky tape.
Then you’ll need to look at the shipping regulations for the countries you’re delivering to and the products you’re selling. Let’s look at each of these separately.
Taxes, culture, shipping and returns
As you’d expect, each country will do things a little differently. Most of these differences won’t be a big job for you to overcome, but they’ll make a big difference to keeping your costs down and customers happy.
Most importantly of all there’s border costs such as import and export taxes. You’ll need to make sure these are taken care of your customer may have to pay them at the point of delivery. You can be sure they won’t buy from you again and will probably advise others not to as well.
Other factors to consider though include which courier you use at the other end of the delivery process so they don’t mess up your order at the last minute, and should you offer free returns.
All of these will increase your costs but can be easily added to the shipping costs your customer pays, so long as they’re not too high.
Ecommerce platform Flow found that high shipping costs were the reason for 47% of customers abandoning their cart, with 32% saying lack of free shipping was a reason.
In fact, high shipping costs were mentioned in 9 out of the 11 countries surveyed as the number one reason for shopping cart abandonment.
Interestingly, China and South Korea did not seem to be bothered by high shipping costs, but that’s likely down to them accepting that ordering things from across the world is going to cost more than a local purchase.
Cultural differences are also worth investigating as you want your online store to feel like it’s a local store to the customer. Consider colour schemes, language, and other elements.
For example, in Saudi Arabia, customers won’t open their doors if only women are at home, and ‘cash on delivery’ is expected rather than pre-paying for delivery at checkout.
These options can be easily adjusted so that your shop front changes based on the customer’s location.
Product regulation and practically
We’ve mentioned before how toys and games come in all shapes and sizes and this will be a massive factor in what you sell and where you sell it.
Board games, cuddly toys, action figures are all relatively small and easy to ship to almost anywhere in the world. Swing sets, slides and other bulkier items might only be cost-effective to be shipped short distances, if at all.
You’ll need to consider the cost of packaging and shipping of every product, and some will be cost prohibitive.
Smaller items might not be completely trouble free though. Items with batteries may have their own regulations to follow. We look at these in more detail here <LINK TO BATTERIES ARTICLE>.
It might seem daunting to get all of these factors in place so the best option would be to use a shipping handler who can do the job for you.
Companies like Asendia not only have the size to get your package from Tilbury to Timbuktu, but they use local experts at each end.
You’ll have the peace of mind knowing that when it’s landed in the destination country, passed through customs, and is packed onto a local van, the driver knows where he’s going and knows how best to get that package into the hands of your customer, days after it left your own.
And for the shopper you can include within your Delivery Page that Asendia is transporting your parcels to the shopper’s country and which familiar final-mile parcel company is bringing it to their door.
We all have our favoured local delivery company and seeing they will be involved gives confidence in making the purchase.
To find out more about how Asendia can support you in optimising and localising your customer’s delivery experience, so you become their go to online shop for toys and games, get in touch.
