As concerns over new tariffs and other potential duties hang over consumers’ heads, UPS wants to be transparent to shoppers on what they will pay if they buy a product from an overseas website.
The logistics giant is launching UPS Global Checkout, a feature for e-commerce retailers that gives online shoppers an upfront view of the amount they will pay in duties, customs fees and taxes at checkout. In particular, the package courier seeks to eliminate a problem consumers often have upon receiving an international purchase—getting an additional bill for unpaid import costs.
More from Sourcing Journal
-
Publican Exec Talks AI, Automation To Navigate Tariff Complexities
-
Flexport CEO: Brands 'Paralyzed' as Tariffs Upend Supply Chain Planning
Available in 43 origin countries and delivering to more than 200 destinations worldwide, the service covers major markets in North America, Europe and Asia.
The service adjusts to policy changes, international tax laws, duties and tariffs in real time, UPS says, effectively allowing shoppers to view the guaranteed total landed cost before completing the purchase. According to the company, the feature leverages artificial intelligence to assess items in the shopping cart and calculate the correct duties and taxes.
“Online shoppers can now enjoy full transparency and peace of mind with no surprises, knowing what they pay at checkout is the total cost for a cross-border purchase,” said Kate Gutmann, executive vice president and president of international, healthcare and supply chain solutions at UPS, in a statement. “This, combined with our total UPS premium delivery experience, benefits our customers—the retailers—by helping to drive additional sales. Given trade shifts around the world, expanding growth opportunities in new markets can now be seamless.”
According to a survey from e-commerce personalization platform Nosto, 41 percent of 2,000 U.S. and U.K. shoppers, were deterred from buying from an international e-commerce site if the amount of duties and taxes was not clear at checkout.
Consumer confidence on the whole is slipping as the tariffs come into play and shoppers lament their own personal finances.
The latest data from The Conference Board on consumer confidence, released Tuesday, slipped for the fourth straight month in March. The Consumer Confidence Index sank 7.2 points to 92.9.
“Consumers’ expectations were especially gloomy, with pessimism about future business conditions deepening and confidence about future employment prospects falling to a 12-year low,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist of global indicators at The Conference Board, in a statement. “Consumers’ optimism about future income—which had held up quite strongly in the past few months—largely vanished, suggesting worries about the economy and labor market have started to spread into consumers’ assessments of their personal situations.”