Providing address information
Learn how to provide ship from and ship to information for products in your cart.
The Cart resource contains attributes that allow you to set the shopper's billing and shipping addresses. Digital River then uses the values to determine the correct business entity and process your order.
Basic address information
Basic address information includes the customer's name, company, street address, city, and contact information. This data is required to determine accurate billing and shipping processes and to ensure successful delivery. Key parameters include firstName, lastName, line1, city, postalCode, country, and phoneNumber. In the case of Japanese addresses, additional fields for phonetic names and organizational divisions are available for better delivery accuracy.
The following table describes each parameter in a billingAddress, and shippingAddress :
nickName
The name the customer prefers.
firstName
The customer's first name.
lastName
The customer's last name.
companyName
The company's name.
line1
The first line of the address.
line2
The second line of the address.
line3
The third line of the address.
city
The city of the address.
countrySubdivision
postalCode
country
countryName
The country's name.
phoneNumber
The customer's phone number.
countyName
The name of the county.
emailAddress
The customer's email address.
phoneticFirstName
phoneticLastName
division
Japanese phonetics and divisions
When handling customer addresses in Japan, it is essential to account for unique features such as phonetic spellings and organizational divisions. Phonetic spellings aid in correctly pronouncing names during deliveries, improving the overall customer experience. Meanwhile, organizational divisions within Japanese companies ensure precise internal routing and accurate billing. These elements are crucial for seamless delivery services and data accuracy in billing and shipping processes. Understanding and properly using these fields can significantly enhance service efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Understanding Japanese scripting styles
In Japanese, customer names can be written in two primary script styles:
Hiragana: The traditional and cursive script primarily used in native Japanese words.
Katakana: This is a phonetic script used when the customer and courier services want to use phonetic spelling. Katakana is also used by foreigners living in the country who don't have a Japanese name.
These scripting styles are crucial for accurate name representation and pronunciation, particularly for delivery and courier services. Katakana is often preferred for its phonetic clarity, making it easier for couriers to pronounce names correctly during delivery.
To ensure accurate and efficient delivery services, customers should:
Use Katakana for phonetic clarity, especially if they have foreign names or names that are difficult to pronounce.
Enter their names in Hiragana and Katakana to provide traditional and phonetic representations.
Using the phonetic names and division attributes
Digital River provides the ability to enter a phonetic name for a Japanese customer and a division in the billingAddress and shippingAddress objects. This ensures accurate name representation and pronunciation, facilitating effective communication and delivery services.
Add the following attributes to your billing and shipping addresses to ensure accurate pronunciation and proper subdivision handling.
phoneticFirstName: The phonetic representation of the first name to ensure correct pronunciation.phoneticLastName: The phonetic representation of the last name, aiding in accurate pronunciation.division: Specifies the subdivision or department within an organization.
Example JSON:
Include these attributes when making requests to the following resources:
POST /shoppers/me/carts/active– Updates both billing and shipping addresses in the cart.PUT /shoppers/me/carts/active/billing-address– Updates the billing address independently.PUT /shoppers/me/carts/active/shipping-address– Updates the shipping address independently.
These attributes enhance the accuracy and efficiency of deliveries by ensuring that phonetic names and divisions appear correctly on the Order Summary page.
Digital River ensures that phonetic names and divisions appear on the Order Summary page, enhancing delivery accuracy and efficiency. They will also appear under the billingAddress and shippingAddress objects when you issue one of the following calls:
US states and territories
In shipping and billing addresses within the United States, using the correct two-letter states, territories, APO/FPO military addresses, and the District of Columbia abbreviations are important. The table below provides a comprehensive list of these abbreviations essential for ensuring accurate and efficient order processing. When specifying a US state or territory in any request, always include "US" as the country parameter.
US states
AK
Alaska
AL
Alabama
AR
Arkansas
AZ
Arizona
CA
California
CO
Colorado
CT
Connecticut
DE
Delaware
FL
Florida
GA
Georgia
HI
Hawaii
IA
Iowa
ID
Idaho
IL
Illinois
IN
Indiana
KS
Kansas
KY
Kentucky
LA
Louisiana
MA
Massachusetts
MD
Maryland
ME
Maine
MI
Michigan
MN
Minnesota
MO
Missouri
MS
Mississippi
MT
Montana
NC
North Carolina
ND
North Dakota
NE
Nebraska
NH
New Hampshire
NJ
New Jersey
NM
New Mexico
NV
Nevada
NY
New York
OH
Ohio
OK
Oklahoma
OR
Oregon
PA
Pennsylvania
RI
Rhode Island
SC
South Carolina
TN
Tennessee
TX
Texas
UT
Utah
VT
Vermont
WA
Washington
WV
West Virginia
WY
Wyoming
US federal district
DC
District of Columbia
US territories
AS
American Samoa
GU
Guam
MP
Northern Mariana Islands
PR
Puerto Rico
VI
U.S. Virgin Islands
US APO/FPO military addresses
AE
Armed Forces
AP
Armed Forces Pacific
AA
Armed Forces America
Postal codes
Postal codes are essential in mailing systems worldwide, facilitating the efficient sorting and delivery of mail. They consist of letters, digits, or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation that identify specific regions, cities, or delivery routes within a country. Varying in format from one nation to another, postal codes help ensure that mail reaches its intended destination accurately and promptly. Understanding postal codes and their formats is crucial for businesses and individuals alike to ensure smooth and reliable communication and transactions across the globe.
US ZIP Code and geocode
In the United States, a ZIP Code is used to identify specific postal delivery areas, facilitating the efficient sorting and distribution of mail. Typically, a ZIP Code consists of five digits, but it can extend to nine full digits, known as ZIP+4. The additional four digits, called the geocode, pinpoint a more precise delivery location within the original five-digit area. This system enhances mail delivery accuracy and plays a crucial role in various applications, such as tax calculations, by providing detailed regional information. Understanding and using both ZIP Codes and geocodes ensure more effective and accurate delivery and processing of mail and related services.
How it works
To enable the postalCode feature, enter the ZIP Code and geocode in the following format: "xxxxx-yyyy," where the first five digits represent the ZIP Code and the last four digits represent the geocode. Digital River uses this format when calculating taxes, resulting in more precise results.
A US shopper can provide just their five-digit ZIP Code without impact. However, we recommend providing the ZIP Code and geocode to ensure the correct tax calculation.
Validation for US locales
When a shopper inputs their ZIP Code and geocode, Digital River performs strict validation to ensure they follow the required format ("xxxxx-yyyy"). If the format is incorrect, a 409 Conflict response returns an invalid-postal-code error with instructions on the proper format. This validation helps achieve accurate tax calculations for US addresses.
For example, the following cases will trigger an error:
Entering nine digits without a dash:
123456789Misplaced dash:
1-23456789
Validation for non-US locales
No specific format validation is required for non-US locales. The update ensures no interruption or change in behavior for users operating outside of the US.
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