As online sales of high-value goods and collectibles accelerate, sellers are looking to Arta to launch or scale ecommerce in a way that meets buyer expectations in the 21st century.
Logistics and fulfillment for high-value goods and collectibles is a nuanced and complex endeavor, as moving these items around the world requires more than just a box. Safely transporting these often fragile, oversized, and valuable objects requires specialized handlers, transit insurance, and other niche services. Because a single seller could need multiple carriers to adequately ship their goods to buyers, and the process for shipping has been manual and fragmented to date, there is a high barrier to entry for online sales of high-value goods. For this reason, buyers often find a “click to inquire” button when browsing items for sale online, as opposed to a “buy now” button.
When the global pandemic hit in early 2020, sellers of fine art, antiques, and design objects could no longer rely on foot traffic to generate sales. While ecommerce was always a sales channel on the radar, COVID and lockdowns made omnichannel sales a requirement in order to succeed. Consumers wanted to purchase online, but were looking for the same, frictionless experience they encountered when buying other types of goods digitally; namely: upfront shipping costs and single click checkout.
The Arta API provides all the features our clients need to offer a streamlined, user-friendly checkout experience that meets today’s consumer expectations. Our instant pricing feature provides shipping and service costs in under 2 seconds, for any item regardless of size, material, or price point. Our clients can display shipping costs while buyers are browsing, notably increasing conversion rates when customers have all pricing information upfront. This is supported by data in the Hiscox ArtTactic 2020 Online Art Trade Report, which affirmed: “Of hesitant online art buyers, 41% said that concerns around the cost and length of delivery time were key reasons for abandoning an online art purchase.”
In addition to instant pricing, Arta offers flexible payment features that allow our clients to build a one-click checkout experience or leverage Arta's hosted payment interface. This eliminates the need for sellers to follow up with buyers post-booking and take a second payment for shipping.
As noted in the Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report 2021, “Online sales of art and antiques reached a record high of $12.4 billion [in 2020], doubling in value on the previous year, and accounting for a record share of 25% of the market’s value.” As more sellers are capitalizing on the growing appetite of global collectors to buy online, Arta is excited to support our clients in providing an automated, frictionless checkout and fulfillment experience.
