--- title: "Ecommerce Development Company UK | Arbocode" description: "Ecommerce development for UK retailers covering Strong Customer Authentication, Klarna and Clearpay BNPL, Royal Mail and DPD integration, and VAT display." url: https://arbocode.com/locations/uk/ecommerce-development --- 1. [Home](https://arbocode.com/) 2. [Locations](https://arbocode.com/locations) 3. [United Kingdom](https://arbocode.com/locations/uk) 4. E-commerce Development E-commerce Development · United Kingdom # Ecommerce Development Company UK A remote team that builds online stores for UK retailers, with Strong Customer Authentication, BNPL options and VAT-inclusive pricing in place at launch. [Get a free estimate](https://arbocode.com/get-a-quote?service=ecommerce-development) [Speak with an engineer](https://arbocode.com/contact) NDA on request · Free, no-obligation estimate · Reply within one business day NDA signed before we start Full IP ownership on payment Your repository from the first commit Live demo at the end of every sprint Built by senior engineers [How we work](https://arbocode.com/process) A UK ecommerce checkout has to meet rules that a US-focused build never considers. Strong Customer Authentication comes from the onshored version of PSD2 and is enforced by the FCA, and it requires two-factor confirmation on most card payments. Prices shown to consumers must also include VAT. An ecommerce development company working with UK retailers builds both into the checkout from the outset, since a checkout that fails SCA quietly turns a share of transactions into declined payments that nobody notices until the sales numbers drop. Buy-now-pay-later options, Klarna and Clearpay in particular, have become close to a baseline expectation at UK checkout rather than a differentiator, and carrier integration usually means Royal Mail and DPD rather than the US carriers a default ecommerce template assumes. Market ## What the UK buyers expect from this work - ### Strong Customer Authentication at checkout Most card payments above a low threshold need SCA, generally a 3D Secure step combining something the customer has (their phone) with something they know or are. We build the checkout so this step is handled smoothly through Stripe or a comparable processor rather than as a jarring redirect that increases abandonment. - ### Klarna and Clearpay as a checkout expectation Buy-now-pay-later has moved from nice-to-have to close to standard at UK checkout, particularly for fashion, homeware and higher-ticket items. We integrate Klarna or Clearpay alongside card and Apple Pay so it doesn't get bolted on as a separate, awkward payment step later. - ### Royal Mail and DPD over US carrier defaults Most ecommerce platform defaults assume UPS or FedEx; UK fulfillment usually runs through Royal Mail for standard parcels and DPD, Evri or a similar courier for tracked and next-day delivery, so the shipping integration gets configured for the carriers the business actually uses rather than a US-centric template. - ### VAT-inclusive pricing throughout Prices shown to UK consumers need to include VAT rather than adding it at the final checkout step, and the underlying product data needs to carry the correct VAT rate per item, since not everything is taxed at the standard rate. - ### Returns handling that matches UK consumer expectations UK shoppers buying online have a statutory right to cancel and return most goods within fourteen days under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, and a returns process that makes this harder than it needs to be shows up directly in support tickets and chargebacks. We build a self-service returns flow, generating a return label through the same carrier integration used for outbound shipping, rather than routing every return through a manual email exchange. ## Compliance we plan for - Strong Customer Authentication under the UK's onshored PSD2 rules - VAT-inclusive pricing display for consumer sales - PECR for marketing email and on-site tracking consent - UK GDPR for customer account and order data - Consumer Contracts Regulations for cancellation and returns rights ## How the engagement runs Store builds are quoted as a fixed-scope project through launch, covering checkout, payment methods, returns handling and carrier integration. Ongoing catalogue and campaign work typically shifts to a retainer once the store is live, billed in GBP against a monthly sprint rather than a per-ticket rate. The store and any custom checkout code live under the client's own Shopify or hosting account, with IP assigning as milestones are invoiced and paid in GBP. A soft launch against a small share of traffic is standard before a full cutover, so tax display, SCA and shipping labels are checked against real orders before the old store comes down. Industries ## Industries we often work with here - [Retail & E-commerceInventory, POS and storefront software that stays synchronized across every channel, with EDI connected for your wholesale partners.](https://arbocode.com/industries/retail-ecommerce) - [Food & BeverageRecipe costing, allergen labeling and lot traceability designed around the POS and kitchen systems your locations already use.](https://arbocode.com/industries/food-beverage) - [Fitness & WellnessClass booking, membership billing and wearable data sync for studios and gyms that have grown past Mindbody or Glofox.](https://arbocode.com/industries/fitness-wellness) FAQ ## Frequently asked questions Why are some of our card payments getting declined at checkout? Most likely a Strong Customer Authentication failure, the 3D Secure step required on most UK card payments above a low threshold. We check that the SCA flow is implemented correctly through your payment processor rather than skipped or handled in a way that fails silently for some banks. Can you add Klarna or Clearpay to our existing store? Yes, integrated alongside your existing card and Apple Pay options rather than as a separate awkward step, which is how most UK shoppers now expect to see buy-now-pay-later presented at checkout. Do you integrate with Royal Mail and DPD instead of US shipping carriers? Yes, by default for a UK-focused store. We configure rate calculation and label generation for Royal Mail, DPD, Evri or whichever combination of couriers the business actually uses, rather than the UPS and FedEx defaults most ecommerce platforms ship with. Do our product prices need to show VAT included? For consumer sales, yes, the displayed price should include VAT rather than adding it at checkout. We build the product data to carry the correct VAT rate per item, since not every product is taxed at the standard rate. How long does it take to build a UK-ready Shopify Plus store? Ten to fourteen weeks is typical for a store with SCA-compliant checkout, BNPL integration and UK carrier setup, longer than a bare Shopify install because of the payment and shipping integration work specifically. Do we have to accept returns within fourteen days? Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, most UK consumers can cancel an online order within fourteen days of receiving it, with a further fourteen days to send it back. We build a self-service returns flow around this window so it's handled through the store rather than a manual support process. 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A senior engineer reads each request and answers with questions, next steps and an early budget range. [Get a free estimate](https://arbocode.com/get-a-quote?service=ecommerce-development) [Speak with an engineer](https://arbocode.com/contact)