Checkout Optimization at benuta: 60% Fewer Address Errors Through Smart Validation

More Efficiency in Checkout: Address Validation as the Key to Cost Reduction

In e-commerce, the checkout process is one of the most important levers for increasing sales and reducing service costs. Small optimizations can achieve great things here – especially if they simultaneously simplify processes and improve customer experiences.

At benuta, this was impressively demonstrated by address validation. The manual checking and reprocessing often required tedious manual rework. By introducing intelligent address validation, erroneous addresses could be significantly reduced. This not only relieved customer service but also substantially lowered shipping and return costs.

Technical Implementation: Seamless Integration into a Modern Headless Setup

A customized React component was developed for the new checkout, which was integrated directly into the existing headless architecture of Adobe Commerce and Vercel. The solution combines Address Autocomplete and Validation based on the Google Maps APIs and impresses with its simple implementation:

• Autocomplete suggests valid addresses already during input. This accelerates the checkout process and reduces typos.
• Address Validation ensures data quality. Even with manual changes, the system checks whether the address exists in the Google Maps database. Errors are communicated directly and clearly to the customers.
• Seamless Integration, as the component was developed as a software module. The smooth process this enabled between the developers was a key success factor.

Optimizing the User Experience (UX)

The implementation went beyond pure technology, incorporating features that make the checkout even more intuitive:

• Map Visualization: The entered address is displayed directly on a map to support quick verification.
• Mobile First: User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) were optimized with a one-page approach for approximately 80% mobile users – ensuring fast and easy data entry.
• Flexible Validation: Accounts for different address formats across all 16 markets.
• User Guidance: To avoid input errors, users are alerted to missing house numbers.

Tangible Results and Operational Added Value

The introduction of the new checkout solution quickly showed measurable success:

• Reduction in Address Errors: The rate of faulty addresses was demonstrably reduced from 5% to 2% within a short period. This corresponds to a 60% reduction of the original error rate.
• Relief for Customer Service: Due to the lower number of address errors, the workload in the customer service team has significantly decreased. The manual rework that previously tied up time and resources has been reduced to a minimum.
• Improved Customer Experience: Customers benefit from a fast, secure ordering process and a clean UI/UX.

Partnership at Eye Level

The cooperation between benuta and Ubilabs demonstrates how the combination of Location Technology expertise and tailored software development can transform even inconspicuous elements, such as the address field in the checkout, into a central lever for success.

The next step is to examine the use of address and location data for delivery time displays and personalized services to enable a holistic improvement of the customer experience.