Automating Email Validation in E-Commerce

Every email address acquired is an opportunity for e-commerce revenue or a detriment to your ROI.

So - how can you make e-commerce work?

Automate email verification with an API. You won’t waste time with manual labor, and it’s all performed by a dedicated e-commerce email validation API or plugin.

The problems with manual email validation (and why you should avoid it)

First off - what is email validation?

Email validation is the process of determining if an email address is valid and in use. Your business requires valid email addresses to successfully connect with leads and customers. Invalid emails simply lead to high bounce rates, poor email engagement, and lower e-commerce ROI.

If you search for e-commerce email validation, you’ll find a ton of different options at your disposal: free manual validation with your language of choice like Python or JavaScript, paid software, or email validation SaaS platforms with subscription or pay-as-you-go options.

As a business owner, what sounds the most attractive? The free, manual e-commerce email validation option, right?

Think again - here are the major problems with manual e-commerce email list cleaningⓘThe process of removing invalid and high-risk emails, such as spam traps or disposable emails, from an email list. Email list cleaning can be performed after gathering data via email validation. that can further hurt your marketing efforts.

Manual validation is time-consuming

First - validating every email on your list is time-consuming.

If you’re operating a successful e-commerce store, you likely have thousands of emails already in your database. Every one of those email addresses needs to be validated - no exceptions.

Did you know?

Nearly 25% of your email list decaysⓘThe gradual degradation of a list’s average email address quality due to the expiration or abandonment of email addresses, as well as the collection of low-quality contacts over time. annually. You could lose existing or potential customers as they change emails due to employment changes, promotions, or email address updates. Read more about it in the full report.

The last item, in particular, represents a significant time commitment. It will take substantially longer to validate your database using your own servers and infrastructure as it’s not designed to handle email validation tasks effectively.

Unexpected errors, complex email domains, and different email address types like catch-alls or disposable domains can stall progress as your manual email validation script struggles to verify the data.

This leads to another significant risk with manual email validation.

It’s more error-prone compared to other email validation methods

Your average email validation script or library you’ll find online is limited in its capabilities. Most provide surface-level validation by performing routine syntax checksⓘAn examination of a text’s format compared to the expected standards.. This process determines if the user’s email address uses a valid format and is free of possible errors.

However - just because an email address has a valid syntax does not mean that’s it valid or in use. You need an e-commerce email validation plugin or platform that can perform additional, necessary checks like domain pinging (SMTP checksⓘSimple Mail Transfer Protocol check. This is a relay process that determines if a mail server possesses the necessary DNS records to send and receive emails. SMTP checks also measure response times.) or DNS record lookups.

Furthermore, it takes a sophisticated email validation tool to handle complex email domain configurations and email address types effectively. You don’t want to mistake an email address as “valid” when it could be a company’s catch-all email with an inbox that goes ignored.

Worse yet, it could be a spam trap or expired disposable email, which presents additional email deliverability issues of their own.

Nothing about manual validation is efficient for a business

In short - manual email validation isn’t effective for any business that sends emails at scale.

A marketing channel’s ROI is determined by what you stand to earn versus what you need to invest. The high potential for error and the time cost are prices you realistically can’t afford.

Plus, email validation errors damage your e-commerce domain's reputation. Missing an invalid or high-risk email address on your list with poor validation techniques will lead to:

High email bounce ratesⓘThe percentage of emails that are undelivered vs. delivered to the intended recipient. - It’s recommended to keep yours below 2%.

Potential email blacklisting - Blacklist placements can be caused by excessively high bounce rates, spam complaints, or emailing spam traps.

Poor sender reputation - A score below 70 attributed to poor email hygiene and performance. You can check your reputation with tools like Google PostMaster.

Low email deliverability - Email deliverability refers to your ability to reach the inbox. With a lousy sender reputation, more emails will go to the spam folder.

Email marketing can be one of the most cost-effective sources of revenue for an e-commerce business or otherwise. But that’s only true if you handle your e-commerce email list cleaning properly.

So then - what’s the solution? Real-time email verification for e-commerce.

Using a dedicated, trustworthy service to clean your emails promises

Plus - you can leverage such a powerful, dedicated email validation tool automatically with an API for email verification in e-commerce.

Automating email validation with the ZeroBounce API

One way to automate email validation for your e-commerce store is by using the ZeroBounce API for online stores.

Need to know

An application programming interface (API) is software or script that allows pieces of software to communicate and interact with one another. By connecting an API for an email validation tool to your e-commerce store, you can validate your email database with minimal effort.

Let’s take a closer look at the e-commerce email validation API and some examples of how you can use it immediately with your e-commerce shop.

Overview of the ZeroBounce email validation API

ZeroBounce’s automated email checker for e-commerce provides all of the same benefits and guarantees as the bulk upload or import tool available with a free account. It uses the same proprietary technologies to rapidly validate email lists (roughly 100,000 email addresses in 45 minutes, depending on domain complexity).

Here are some of the benefits of the email validation tool:

99% email validation accuracy - This is the highest level of accuracy available.

Consistently yields fewer than 1% unknown results - A consistent problem in the email validation industry is “unknown” results. These happen when the software is unable to properly handle certain email address types or validate entire email domains.

Descriptive validation results - It identifies more than 30 email address types. Instead of just differentiating “valid” from “invalid” reliably, learn more about customer emails. Also detects: alternates, aliases, toxic domains, spam traps, abuse emails, disposable domains, and more.

Reliable error handling - The dedicated email validation tool avoids problems common with manual validation, including error response code handling or timeouts. If something stops an email from being validated, it immediately processes the rest of the list to validate it in a timely manner.

Real-time email verification - Finally, the API allows you to monitor and validate new email addresses automatically. While you’ll still need to upload your existing database for cleaning, the API checks every new email address entered into the corresponding field and allows or rejects it based on the validation result.

Military-grade security - Online shoppers demand security. All emails validated by the API are protected by a platform that undergoes rigid risk assessment and penetration testing while also complying with GDPR, CCPA, PCI, and HIPAA.

Let’s take a look at how you can use the e-commerce email validation API for your storefront.

How to use the email validation API in e-Commerce

You can find code samples for the API by checking out the email validation API page or by visiting the documentation. The official docs will provide further data on JSON properties and additional features like allow and blocklists and greylist API processing.

Example of the ZeroBounce email validation API in JavaScript

Example of a successful response

Additionally, you’ll need to use the appropriate URL endpoint. ZeroBounce provides two - one with servers in Europe and another closer to New York, USA.

Default API URL: https://api.zerobounce.net/v2/validate

USA API URL: https://api-us.zerobounce.net/v2/validate

You should use the endpoint closest to your location to enjoy faster processing speeds.

Smart use-cases for email validation in e-commerce

With access to the e-commerce email validation API, let’s take a look at some different ways you can automate email validation to enhance your online store.

Validate email addresses for existing accounts or guests during checkout

It’s recommended that all of these data points be validated. You’ll want to use an address validation API to deliver the customer’s order successfully. Likewise, ensure that your payment processing service is secure and accurate when checking credit cards or other supported payment methods.

To fully secure your checkout information - start by integrating email validation in shopping platforms to secure your checkout flow. Whenever a customer enters an email address to create an account or confirm their order, the API will automatically check the address and provide a validation result.

If the email address is valid - the user can continue with checkout successfully. If the address is invalid, a spam trap, a disposable email, or some other high-risk email type, the API blocks the entry and prevents checkout from continuing.

Automated email validation during checkout not only keeps your email list clean but also helps customers correct common typos so that you can deliver important order information successfully. The API plays a significant role in enhancing customer data quality.

Capture real leads with your website and promo pages

There are a variety of ways to attract new leads for your e-commerce business.

You could use informative blogs, create a newsletter, get active on social media, or run paid ads through search or social.

No matter what strategy you choose - there are two data points that are key to capture: name and email address.

Similar to updating your checkout flow, you’ll want to incorporate the ZeroBounce API for online stores into any page that contains a registration form with an email address field.

Sanitize your e-commerce customer database

As mentioned earlier in this article, even a healthy email database will decay over time.

It’s recommended to use an e-commerce email validation API or plugin to clean your email list at least quarterly. Whether you store your customer emails within your e-commerce platform or a separate CRM platform, the API allows you to run periodic checks that keep your database fresh.

E-commerce platforms with native email validation API integrations

If you’re uncomfortable with using the email validation API script or are unsure how to implement it, consider using a native API integration.

ZeroBounce helps by integrating email validation in shopping platforms, including these official and third-party integrations:

Plus - ZeroBounce provides 60+ integrations with other marketing tools you’ll likely use to store your contacts or reach your e-commerce leads for landing pages, emails, and more.

All of the API integrations and email validation solutions for e-commerce are free for all users. Instead of installing the API code to your website or platform, you can leverage ZeroBounce email validation just by providing your API key.

By connecting the email validation API to your e-commerce store, visitors will need to enter a valid email address to create an account or complete checkout.

After you’ve successfully connected the API to your e-commerce platform, you’ll have access to those recommended validation workflows during account creation or checkout. Whenever a customer enters an email address type that you don’t accept, they’ll receive an automated notification.

Similarly - you’ll be able to quickly validate an email address stored in your CRM or the entire database with just one click. You’ll just need to ensure that your ZeroBounce account has the necessary credits to validate each email address.

But knowing all of this - is automating email validation in e-commerce truly worth it?

In addition to those recommended website optimizations, here’s a look at the benefits you can expect when you make email list hygieneⓘThe act of or ability to maintain an email list or database consisting of valid and active email addresses. a regular business practice.

Benefits of automating email validation in e-commerce

Prevent fraudulent orders and chargebacks

Let’s face it - if you’re running an e-commerce store, you’re going to encounter fraudulent buyers.

With that knowledge, one of the best ways to reduce chargebacks in e-commerce is to automate the email verification APIⓘAn API, or application programming interface, that allows an email verification tool to connect and communicate with another software application. anywhere you collect email addresses.

Here are some scenarios where bad actors may attempt to scam you and how using an email validation API helps.

Additionally, you’ll be able to monitor all email validation requests and their respective sources. If you notice suspicious or malicious activity coming from specific domains or IP addresses, you can create a custom blocklist to stop all signup or purchase attempts coming from those sources.

Increase customer engagement and trust

For any mild annoyance that comes with data validation and security, the benefits significantly outweigh the downsides.

In fact - many buyers are hesitant to enter their payment information online, and for good reason. Even with business requirements like SSL, HTTPS, and PCI compliance, chances are that someone you know has had their payment information compromised.

Enabling security protocols from something as rudimentary as email validation to penetration testing will win the trust of customers globally.

It’s also important, if not legally necessary in the case of GDPR or CCPA, to advise your customers how you’re securing their data, how you store it, and what it’s used for.

Not only will you be enhancing customer data quality, but you’ll also enhance the customer experience for e-commerce customers by providing a sense of security and peace of mind.

Reduce bounce rates and reach more leads

Email validation is a critical tool in any business’s email marketing toolbelt.

High email bounce rates are primarily caused by invalid email addresses. By enforcing a standard for valid email addresses across your e-commerce website, you’ll improve your email list quality and drastically reduce bounced emails in e-commerce.

That’s necessary as internet service providers have guidelines for email senders. When it comes to email bounce rates, yours should be below 2%.

With a database of valid emails, you’ll reach more leads and have greater opportunities to convert them into recurring customers.

Did you know?

You can further enhance your email performance with e-commerce email scoring. ZeroBounce’s API also gives you access to other services like A.I.-driven email scoring, which rates your email contacts on a scale of 1-10. 10 represents a subscriber that’s highly engaged with their inbox, while a score of 1 indicates a dormant and possibly inactive address.

Improve your domain and sender reputation

Your company’s email performance is only as reliable as your email domain and sender reputation.

If you’re not up to speed, sender reputation is like a credit score for your emails that’s determined by internet service providers. It’s a metric they can use to differentiate legitimate businesses from spammers, spoofers, and hackers.

By keeping your bounce rate low, sending content your customers like, and securing your emails, your sender reputation will improve. That means better inbox visibility for your company over those with poor reputations.

Reinvigorate your email ROI with e-commerce email validation

Email marketing can be one of your most powerful, profitable marketing channels. But you need to generate and maintain an email list that’s worth the marketing effort.

By automating e-commerce email list cleaning, you’ll have a proactive defense against invalid, low-quality leads and junk data. Your emails will reach more inboxes, giving you more data and feedback to continuously refine and improve your email content. Plus, it adds a necessary level of security for your company and customers by restricting which data entries can enter your database.

And - taking the first step is simple.

Get access to the e-commerce email validation API by creating a free ZeroBounce account. The API is free and available in over a dozen languages. Plus - you can test ZeroBounce’s email validation at no cost with 100 free credits monthly.

You might also like

Email Validation

Email Deliverability Guide

Email Validation API

Bounce Rates, Spam Traps, & Deliverability Issues

Email List Decay Report