Address validation has been a staple of online retail and logistics for well over a decade, but businesses are constantly finding new and inventive uses for it.
This article covers some of the clever ways address validation is being used across different industries, as well as an overview of some more common use cases.
The basics
Before mentioning the more surprising ways that address technology can be deployed, it’s worth defining the most generic use-case. Address validation provides the most obvious value when delivering goods to a customer’s address. For eCommerce firms and other retailers, an address capture (or autocomplete) tool provides an address dropdown at checkout, letting buyers choose from unique and accurate addresses based on their keystrokes up to that point.
This provides two main benefits:
- The UX of the checkout page is significantly improved for customers, and friction is removed from the purchasing process
- Users are prevented from entering inaccurate addresses, leading to more efficient deliveries and fewer delays
This capability can then be combined with an address verification tool, which checks address data entered through other channels, such as express checkouts and marketplaces. The result is a completely clean and consistent set of addresses, each of which relates to a unique deliverable location.
However, there are many other ways organisations can use these tools. Here are five of them:
1. Address-based eligibility
Whilst eCommerce sites typically ask for address data at the end of the customer journey, some actually look for it at the start.
This is for a good reason. When offering deliveries within a certain timeframe, it can be essential to understand the actual geographic location of a customer before determining the offers available to them.
Food delivery is a classic example here, but this also applies to fast commerce. In either case, filtering users by location is crucial to ensuring rapid deliveries are possible within the promised window of time.
In this instance addresses need to be not only accurate but also geographically descriptive, allowing for delivery areas to be spatially mapped ahead of time. One benefit of postcode systems such as Ireland’s Eircode is that each code is tied to geographic co-ordinates, allowing for this granular delineation of delivery zones.
2. Layered data for internal modelling
Being able to map address data in an accurate manner can be useful for other reasons as well. Insurance companies, for instance, need to understand the relative risks of insuring different properties based on their location. In this instance, accurate address data needs to include details on the exact geographic co-ordinates, as well as information on small areas or other regional demarcations.
This is one reason why the formatting of address data may need to be consistent across a company’s internal database. If inconsistencies exist within their addresses, then it can be hard to compare or layer different information together. This is one reason an organisation may turn to an address cleansing service, which reformats existing addresses to a specified standard.
3. Finding and grouping duplicates
When businesses keep track of address data, they frequently want to understand patterns within customer behaviour. One benefit of consistent and accurate address data is that it allows for customer profiles to be grouped by address.
This can be particularly relevant for banks and other financial institutions, who may issue several different policies to the same address. This function also shows the benefit of unique address data. When an address refers to multiple organisations or households, identifying a duplicate is less revealing. However, when an address refers to a unique household (as in the case of an Eircode), this can be used to group duplicates in an accurate way.
4. Operational efficiency
The ability to autocomplete accurate addresses is useful for staff as well as customers. In businesses which onboard large volumes of users on a regular basis, manual address entry can be time-consuming, and the resulting address data will not always be accurate.
By integrating address autocomplete into their internal CRM system, organisations can save time for their Sales and Customer Support teams. This can be particularly relevant for gyms, activity centres, medical clinics, and hospitals.
5. Legal and technical compliance
Finally, some organisations are required to store addresses within a certain format. This is the case for financial institutions, who must now meet an ISO 20022 approved address structure in order to process payments through the SWIFT system.
In instances like this, a bespoke address API can be built to correct existing addresses and ensure that new addresses remain in the required format.
How Autoaddress can help
Each of the use cases above needs address data that is accurate, unique and consistently formatted. That is exactly what Autoaddress has been providing for over 25 years.
Our Address Capture adds autocomplete to checkouts, sign-up forms and internal CRMs, returning geocoded, apartment-level addresses that fit your form exactly. Address Verify checks addresses that arrive through other channels, such as express checkouts and marketplaces, before they cause a failed delivery. Finally, Address Cleanse brings an existing database up to a single standard, adding geocodes, boundary data or a compliance-ready structure along the way.
No matter how unique your address requirements are, we’d be glad to help. You can start with a free 14-day trial of Address Capture, or get in touch to talk through your requirements.
