What impact will Brexit have on ecommerce ?

As the UK is about to leave the European Union, we will be reviewing in this article how Brexit could affect e-commerce websites and some of the complications it could potentially have on your business.

Here is what you can expect if the UE and the UK do not succeed in reaching an agreement for the Brexit:

Customs: customs formalities and possibly (longer) waiting times at the border. This is particularly important to take into account when delivering perishable goods.

Export declaration: In most cases you will need to inform the customs in your country that you are exporting goods outside the EU.

Changes to the VAT declaration:  Other VAT rules will apply to the export of goods to countries outside the EU.

Export documents: make sure you prepare all the documents required by customs.

Product requirements: If you are an exporter of goods, you should also be aware that product-specific requirements may change.

Changes in distance selling regulations would create a more complex system of duties and taxes, and imports into the UK would be more expensive.
Increased waiting times for customers’ parcels until they are delivered, which would give EU e-tailers a lack of competitiveness and vice versa for UK retailers selling mainly to customers outside the UK.Although there is nothing definitive today and nothing is clear between the UK and Europe, the conclusion that can be drawn is that the e-commerce landscape will change.

HERE ARE DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO MINIMISING THE IMPACT OF BREXIT:

Think about international expansion – increase your revenue by ensuring that your ecommerce site is accessible worldwide.

Multi-currency – make sure your platform offers payments in different currencies to customers.

Maintain a flexible shipping policy – If you are exporting to an EU country, make sure your policy can be adapted to any changes if additional costs arise, avoiding impacting your margins.

Target other markets – Whether you are a UK online shop that sells mainly to EU countries or an EU online shop that targets consumers in the UK, it is a good idea to start focusing on expanding your target market to different countries.

Upgrade your technology for global use – You may need to expand your business into other markets, and you will need to prepare your technology and processes to be able to tackle this.

It is very important to remain flexible at a time like this so that you can deal with events such as Brexit as they occur. If you prepare properly for Brexit and already start implementing strategies to deal with it, you may come out ahead because other players may have waited too long.

Preparing in advance for such an eventuality will be the key to ensuring the viability of your business in this brave new world. Remember that, as far as we know about Brexit, nothing can be predicted. The only thing we can do is to prepare and do our best to stay the course in the turbulent waters ahead.