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How the USPS Address Verification API Reduces Delays and Increases Customer Satisfaction

Article - 2 Min. Read

Address accuracy is crucial for avoiding delivery delays and returns. Discover how the USPS® Developer Portal and Address Verification API can streamline operations and enhance customer satisfaction.

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Modern illustration of a digital window with the word “ADDRESS” on the screen.

Today’s discerning consumers expect a speedy, seamless shipping process. Anything less may impact their perception of brands’ reliability and transparency—as well as the chances of them doing business with those brands in the future. In fact, nearly a quarter of U.S. consumers abandon online shopping carts if the delivery would be too slow.[1] Delivery issues and delays can mean the difference between loyalty and loss, making address accuracy critical.

To ensure all addresses are accurate and complete, businesses can use the free United States Postal Service (USPS) Address Verification application programming interface (API) to verify customers’ addresses against the USPS database.

4 Key Features of the USPS Address Verification API

Key features and functions of the Address Verification API include:

1. Standardization

  • Automatically converts addresses to USPS-standard formats
  • Corrects misspellings and typos
  • Fills in missing address information—for example, adding ZIP+4® Codes

2. Validation

  • Confirms whether an address is valid and deliverable
  • Flags nondeliverable addresses

3. Formatting

  • Formats international addresses according to USPS standards

4. Real-time verification

  • Validates addresses in real time as customers enter them during checkout

5 Key Benefits of the USPS Address Verification API

Key benefits of the Address Verification API include:

1. Delivery accuracy

  • Ensures packages reach the intended destination without delays

2. Reduced returns

  • Minimizes costs and time associated with returned shipments due to incorrect addresses

3. Customer satisfaction

  • Enhances the overall customer experience by reducing delivery issues and delays

4. Operational efficiency

  • Streamlines the shipping process by reducing manual address corrections
  • Cuts out the need for costly third-party software intermediaries

5. Error reduction

  • Decreases human error in address entry by verifying them in real time

3 Use Cases for the USPS Address Verification API

These three simple use cases illustrate how different kinds of shippers can benefit from the Address Verification API:

Logistics and fulfillment centers

These facilities may use the API to check bulk addresses during bulk shipping preparation, helping to maintain accuracy and ensure optimal efficiency.

E-commerce businesses

E-comm businesses may verify customer shipping addresses during the checkout process in order to provide an easier, more intuitive customer experience while reducing the possibility of human error.

Customer service teams

Customer service teams often use the API to validate addresses during order placement, helping to reduce errors and keep operations flowing smoothly.

Key Takeaway

The USPS Address Verification API is just one of many offerings in the full USPS API Catalog. By helping companies cut out the need for third-party software, this API library allows shippers to streamline operations and reduce costs.

In addition to address verification, the API library offers options for calculating shipping prices, printing address labels, tracking packages and looking up delivery dates. To learn more about the available APIs and learn how to get started, explore the USPS Developer Portal and API Catalog overview and tutorial.

Ready to learn how USPS can further simplify your shipping? Check out USPS Ship, a next-generation package platform for seamless postage payments and adjustments.

Footnotes
  1. [1]“Main reasons why consumers abandon their orders during the checkout process in the United States in 2024,” Baymard, cited by Statista, 2024.
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