Context & Challenge
A well-established premium fashion retailer with a strong domestic presence had been selling internationally for several years. Despite proven brand recognition and healthy demand from US shoppers, the business faced mounting headwinds:
- Rising US import tariffs (effective April 2025) created unpredictable landed costs and eroded competitiveness
- Customs duties were calculated on full retail prices, inflating costs unnecessarily
- Managing cross-border compliance, tax obligations and returns in-house was resource-intensive
- Checkout conversion rates were declining as shoppers faced unexpected duties and fees at checkout
- The brand lacked a local US entity, making it difficult to offer a fully localised, duty-inclusive experience
The business needed a solution that would remove cross-border complexity, protect margins in a volatile tariff environment, and restore shopper confidence — fast.
The ESW Solution: B2B2C Merchant of Record
ESW deployed its B2B2C model, taking on the role of Merchant of Record for the brand’s US e-commerce operations. Under this model:
- ESW purchases goods from the brand at wholesale price — meaning import duties are calculated on wholesale values, not retail, dramatically reducing the duty base
- ESW assumes full legal, tax and compliance responsibility in the destination market, eliminating the need for the brand to establish a local entity
- Shoppers receive a fully landed price at checkout — no surprise fees, no abandoned carts
- Returns, fraud and currency risk are managed by ESW, reducing operational burden on the brand
“Tariff hacking is on the rise, but a legitimate wholesale-based model changes the equation entirely — brands can pass real savings directly to shoppers.”
Trading Director, ESW (via CNBC)
Implementation: Rapid Go-Live
One of the most critical factors for the brand was speed. The ESW team delivered a full B2B2C go-live in a matter of weeks, not months.
- Discovery & Scoping: Weeks 1–2
- Integration & Configuration: Weeks 3–5
- UAT & Compliance Sign-off: Week 6
- Go-Live: 29 August 2025
The brand went live on the ESW B2B2C platform on 29 August 2025. The speed of implementation meant the business was able to respond rapidly to the tariff environment and capture the peak late-summer/early-fall selling season with a fully optimised cross-border setup.
Results at a Glance
The impact was immediate and measurable. Comparing the four months before go-live (May–August 2025) against the four months after (September–December 2025), the business posted strong growth across every key metric.
- +50% Sales Value Growth — May–Aug vs. Sep–Dec 2025
- +34% Monthly Order Volume Growth — same period
- +14.5% Checkout Conversion Rate Growth (60.0% → 68.7%)
- < 6 wks From contract signature to go-live
Conversion Recovery
Checkout conversion averaged 60.0% in the May–August 2025 period as US tariffs weighed on shopper confidence. Post go-live (September–December 2025), average CVR rose to 68.7% — a 14.5% increase, recovering well above pre-tariff norms.
Order & Revenue Growth
Monthly order volumes averaged 2,554 in the four months before launch. In the four months following go-live, they averaged 3,421 — a 34% increase. Total sales value grew from €1.39M to €2.08M across the same periods, a 50% uplift driven by both volume recovery and improved average order value.
Average Order Value
With duties and fees absorbed and displayed transparently at checkout, shoppers were no longer deterred by unexpected costs. This improved AOV stability and helped sustain the overall revenue uplift through the peak autumn/winter selling season.
Core Value Delivered
| Duty Cost Reduction | By purchasing at wholesale, ESW calculates duties on a substantially lower base, enabling the brand to reduce duty costs and pass those savings directly to shoppers, improving price competitiveness without sacrificing margin. |
| Conversion Uplift | A fully landed, transparent checkout price eliminated shopper hesitation and cart abandonment driven by unexpected fees. Conversion recovered immediately and exceeded pre-tariff levels. |
| Compliance & Risk Transfer | ESW assumed full Merchant of Record responsibility — tax, customs, fraud, returns — without requiring the brand to establish a US legal entity. Operational burden was dramatically reduced. |
| Speed to Market | From contract to go-live in approximately 6 weeks, enabling the brand to act decisively in response to tariff changes and capture peak seasonal demand. |
| Customer Loyalty & Revenue Growth | By delivering a frictionless, fair-priced cross-border experience, the brand was able to strengthen shopper loyalty and drive sustained top-line growth in the US market. |
Why ESW B2B2C?
Unlike facilitated models where the brand remains the seller of record and bears duty exposure on retail prices, ESW’s B2B2C model is structurally different:
- ESW acts as the merchant — buying wholesale and reselling to end consumers
- Duties are applied to wholesale values, not retail — a fundamental cost advantage
- No local subsidiary required — ESW handles all in-market compliance
- Full price transparency for the shopper — duties and taxes calculated and displayed at checkout
- End-to-end operational ownership — logistics, fraud, returns, FX all managed by ESW
“The core value we delivered was a reduction in duty costs, enabling the brand to pass those savings directly to shoppers, driving stronger customer loyalty and, ultimately, top line growth.”
ESW Account Team
