Shipping Guide to Ireland

Ireland is a promising market for businesses in the UK. Due to the same language and shared values, British brands often appeal to Irish consumers and have higher chances of succeeding. Yet, shipping to this market still requires knowing it inside out. This is why, in this guide, we shall provide you with key market information and our own tips. Read on if you plan to start shipping your products to Ireland.

What Do You Need to Know About Shipping Your Products to Ireland?

On the surface, Ireland is a market like any other. However, there are some key differences between it and other foreign markets that you need to know.

• Ireland is in the EU, which means that you must comply with all EU regulations and customs clearance requirements.

• Since the Irish speak mainly English, promoting your products in Ireland is much easier. You do not need a separate customer service team working in a different language—this can visibly reduce your operating costs.

• Irish consumers generally like to opt for British products, mainly due to their quality and shared values. This is why Ireland is the UK’s third-largest export destination.

Why Is Ireland a Promising Market for Cross-Border E-Commerce?

As mentioned in the previous section, the Irish market opens numerous opportunities UK. This is mainly due to:

• short distances between the countries,

• the same language,

• strong, growing economy.

Ireland is a fast-growing e-commerce market that reached 3 billion USD net sales in 2020. It is estimated that by 2025, the number of e-commerce shoppers in Ireland will grow by an additional 12%. This is especially crucial since Ireland already has the highest rate of cross-border shoppers in Western Europe.

Shipping Parcels to Ireland: Key Market Insights

What do you need to know about Ireland? What trends are most important for attracting clients to your business? We’ve collected the most critical information for your e-commerce—take a look at them below.

• Fashion is the market’s largest segment, with a market volume of 991 million USD in 2020.

• 51% of Irish e-shoppers buy from EU countries and 35% in non-EU countries (data from 2020).

• 33% of Irish online shoppers have a high household income.

• Poor delivery experience is a key reason Irish consumers stop purchasing on foreign websites, with the main problems being:

  • the delivery process in general (38%),

  • difficult returns process (26%),

  • poor customer service (25%).

• The most important features of delivery services for Irish consumers are:

  • fast (next day) delivery,

  • flexibility (delivery methods, payment, destinations and time),

  • real-time parcel tracking.

How to Ship Your Products to Ireland?

How to ship your parcels to Ireland effectively? This requires you to plan three steps: your shipping strategy, compliance and returns management. Let’s look at them in more detail.

Plan Your Shipping Strategy

Your shipping strategy should start with estimating your parcels' size, volume, number and value. This will be key to determining the logistics services you need and estimating your shipping costs.

You also need to consider where your clients will be located, as this is the principle for selecting the right infrastructure or selecting the hubs through which your goods will be transported into the country.

Ensure Compliance

Secondly, you need to ensure compliance with the regulations regarding shipping and e-commerce stores. Here, the case is quite simple, as you simply need to follow the EU law and check for industry-specific regulations imposed by the Irish government.

If you want to learn more about EU import regulations, read our articles:

• The Impact of the EU Digital Services Act on E-commerce: What Retailers Need to Know

• ICS2 Release 3 on 3 June – Be Prepared

Plan Your Returns Management

Finally, you need to plan your returns management. This step is crucial for Irish consumers, as a bad experience with returns may cause them to stop purchasing at your business. Hence, you need to:

• Write a simple, comprehensive returns policy.

• Prepare return labels (and pack them with your products).

• Plan a multitude of options to leave the returns for the carrier and give your customers flexibility.

Our partner’s award-winning platform offers convenient, secure, and paperless shipments to and from Irish consumers. With over 400 local stores used daily by over a million shoppers, this solution provides unparallel ease and accessibility: shoppers complete the return form, select the store and show QR code to the shop assistant to print the label on the spot. Returning the items cannot be more straightforward.

Retailers also benefit significantly from the solution, as it makes it easy to claim any VAT or duties paid to the Irish Revenue under the Returned Goods Relief (RGR) scheme.

Choose Your Logistics Partner

Partnering with the right company is the key to success. You need a reliable logistics partner who can handle deliveries and returns effectively, even during the peak seasons. Moreover, you should look into the number of carriers that the company works with. A logistics partner who adopts the carrier-neutral approach will be a much more dependable option for your store.

Landmark Global’s Advantage

Landmark Global will help you ship your parcels to Ireland. Our highly developed infrastructure and experienced teams enable us to provide you with services that:

• have improved transit times,

• offer 24-hour delivery,

• build a positive customer experience with fewer inquiries to your customer service team,

• enhance your customer satisfaction,

• provide a simple returns method.

By partnering with Landmark Global, you know we will deliver your parcels on time, every time.

The Takeaway

Shipping goods to Ireland is an excellent cross-border strategy, as this is a promising market open to UK products. However, to achieve success, you need excellent delivery services, as they are one of the key factors that impact local consumer decisions. If you are looking for a reliable logistics partner to ship your parcels to Ireland, contact us at Landmark Global—

Shipping Products to Ireland - Summary of key information:

• Ireland is a key market for UK businesses, offering opportunities due to shared language, values, and a strong, growing economy. Ireland is the UK’s third-largest export destination, with a rapidly expanding e-commerce sector, expected to see a 12% increase in shoppers by 2025.
• As part of the EU, Ireland requires compliance with EU regulations, customs requirements, and industry-specific rules for e-commerce. Businesses should ensure adherence to these regulations when shipping products to Ireland.
• A successful shipping strategy for Ireland involves estimating parcel size, volume, and value, selecting appropriate logistics services, and considering the locations of clients to choose optimal infrastructure for shipping.
• Offering a smooth returns process is crucial for Irish consumers. Businesses must have clear return policies, provide return labels, and offer flexible return options to ensure a positive customer experience and avoid losing sales.
• Irish consumers value fast (next-day) delivery, flexibility in delivery options, and real-time parcel tracking. Poor delivery experiences, especially with complicated returns or poor customer service, are significant reasons for losing customers in the Irish market.

You might also read: Shipping Guide to France