
They all look the same but with a postcode on, you are much more likely to receive it.
Photo: Helen Holmes Photography
So the postcode is 40 years old today – happy birthday to the unsung hero of the online revolution. The ubiquitous little set of digits may well have been invented 40 years ago but without it the online shopping revolution would have been that much harder for delivery companies, merchants and consumers alike. What to receive a delivery at home? Tell us your postcode. Want to find your nearest store with stock of this item? Tell us your postcode. Want to navigate to that nearest store? Enter your postcode.
The postcode was pioneered in Norwich and then rolled out nationally after the successful trial. And while the little string of number and letters has changed a little over the years the concept remains the same 6 or 7 digits plus your house name or number and you are uniquely identified. A pretty efficient system all round that has gone to stand the test of time.
Of course, 2014 is a year of technology anniversaries. The first online was placed 30 years ago in May 1984 by grandmother from Gateshead (the soon become technology HQ of the North East!). And then some 5 years later in March 1989 Tim Berners-Lee effectively invented the internet.
Now 2014 these three inventions are all coinciding to revolutionise the way in which we shop. A postcode plus the web plus the online store and we get an e-commerce revolution.
However, like all revolutions things can seem pretty scary as you stand in the middle of the change and here at Commvia we’d love to help you embrace the e-commerce opportunity.
If you’re looking for help on making your customer data more accurate and reliable then Commvia is working in partnership with Postcode Anywhere. We can help you create solutions for the checkout process to speed the consumer through while getting the best data you can. Accurate data means higher rates of first time delivery reducing your delivery costs as a retailer.
Or perhaps you have a load of data you want to add postcode or gecodes to make it more useful – we can help you there too with custom solution for geocoding your data.
And if none of that makes sense then get in touch and we’ll if we can help you with your e-commerce problems.