All posts by Bailey Hendrickson - Content Writer / Editor

You’ve maybe chosen an address data provider (or maybe you’ve just recently fallen out of love with the one you’ve got). Now comes the time to really test what matters: implementation. Even the best solution falls short if it’s hard to integrate, confusing to use, or impossible to maintain. This blog is part of our five-part series, What to look for in an address data solution. Previously, we discussed why human support teams should be top of mind when choosing an address data solution. Not just tech support, but educational materials, help getting started, and more.

Selecting the right address data solution is only the beginning. Rolling it out successfully, resolving issues quickly, and keeping it performing at its best all depend on the quality of support behind it. This blog is part of our five-part series, What to look for in an address data solution. Previously, we discussed what it means to be accurate, what questions to ask any address data provider before entering into a contract with them, and how to avoid the accuracy “validation gap. ”Today, we’re focusing on an often-overlooked element: a supportive, accessible, and responsive partner.

Once you know what capabilities you need, the next challenge is choosing a provider that actually delivers—pun intended. This blog is part of our five-part series, What to look for in an address data solution. Previously, we discussed the need to find an address data solution that understands the importance of speed, scalability, and reliability, enabling you to maintain automated, efficient, and accurate workflows in any industry that deals with addresses. Today, we’ll focus on the hidden costs of inaccurate data, defining and combating the “validation gap”, and why it’s important in any industry.

Not all address tools are created equal. The right platform should do more than validate—it should verify, enrich, and future-proof your data. This blog is part of our five-part series, What to look for in an address data solution. Previously, we discussed the hidden costs of poor address data, including misdeliveries, lost revenue, billing errors, and operational inefficiencies. These creep up because companies mistakenly assume that their CRM or ERP already validates and standardizes addresses.

If data is the lifeblood of your business, addresses are the veins that carry it. They connect every operation—from shipping to customer service to compliance. Yet, address data is often overlooked until it breaks something expensive. This post kicks off our five-part series, What to look for in an address data solution—a practical guide to building a smarter, cleaner, and more reliable address data strategy. We’ll break down why address accuracy matters, what capabilities your tools should have, how to evaluate providers, and how to keep your data compliant and high-performing over time.

Tariffs are spiking. Shipping costs are climbing. Margins are shrinking. You can’t control global trade policy, but you can control how efficient and accurate your operations are in response. Most ecommerce teams, logistics planners, and data managers miss one of their best cost-saving opportunities: addressing accuracy. Bad address data isn’t hidden. It sits in your systems, shows up in carrier returns, and quietly drains profits every day. When tariffs rise to 15 to 50 percent in some product categories and import volumes are falling, every shipment becomes more expensive, every delay costs more, and every lost customer hurts more.

November 2025 | 100% online | 100% awesomeJoin us this November for the Smarty Virtual User Conference, a two-day event packed with insights, tools, laughs, and $1000 worth of prizes. This event is for you, whether you’re optimizing delivery accuracy, improving compliance, or just trying to figure out if your neighbor really has a breakfast nook. What to expect:2 days, 12 hours of content, zero fluffLive sessions from address data prosHands-on demos of Smarty’s latest tools and pluginsGiveaways galore, like gift cards, swag, and even a chance at a massive LEGO setHidden Easter eggs throughout the event (no, seriously—find them and win)An after-party with games (shoutout to Brady Amundson)Tailored tracks for every roleFor developers:Roll up your sleeves.

Phony passports. Runaway trains. Rogue elephants. Hot air balloons. Phileas Fogg dodged them all in the 1956 movie adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel, Around the World in 80 Days. His race was against time. Today, your ecommerce business is running a race of its own; delivering quickly, accurately, and affordably across a world full of logistical landmines. Fortunately, you don’t need a valet named Passepartout to guide you (although wouldn’t that be fun?!) You just need Smarty. Smarty is your passport to global address data perfection, specializing in address verification, autocomplete, geocoding, and enrichment.

Most address validation tools give you a simple thumbs up or down on an address because it either matches or it doesn’t, right? But what if you need more than just “valid” or “invalid” as a response? What if you could know exactly what part of the address is off, like a misspelled street name or an unconfirmed vanity city (like Hollywood), and why it isn’t considered valid?What if part of an address needed to change in order to make it a mailable, valid address? We think you’d want to know that, too.

Dateline: Tuesday, 8:04 a. m. In what experts are calling “the biggest location intelligence crisis since the discovery of space,” rooftop-accurate geocodes have officially gone on strike. The high-precision coordinates—normally pinpointing locations down to the exact rooftop for deliveries, telecom installs, insurance claims, and analytics—appeared on Smarty TV and issued a short but cutting statement this morning:“We’re tired of being taken for granted. We’re tired of being treated like just another number.

If you’re using Smarty’s US Address Verification, you're already sitting on a treasure trove of up to 55 points of metadata, already included in every response. Sure, it cleans and standardizes your addresses like a pro, but that’s just the beginning. Without any upcharges, you can use metadata to make your systems smarter, streamline your operations, and sharpen your marketing and business decisions. Whether you're focused on fraud prevention, operational efficiency, compliance, logistics, or customer experience, Smarty’s metadata delivers powerful insights to your tech stack that will help you rise above your competitors.

Address data accuracy isn't just about getting mail delivered. Having quality address data will directly impact revenue, compliance, and customer experience. In a recent webinar, we explored real-world case studies showing how companies across industries leverage address verification and geocoding to solve expensive problems and unlock new opportunities. Healthcare data: Compliance and accuracy at scaleCuratus, a healthcare data provider, faced a critical challenge with provider directory accuracy.

Your product might be HIPAA and ACA-compliant in theory, but a mistyped ZIP Code or invalid apartment number can still trigger privacy violations, eligibility errors, and failed mailings. Misdirected mail is explicitly named in HIPAA breach cases. For example, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has publicly cited misrouted or misaddressed mail as a cause of HIPAA breaches in their breach portal. Aetna paid $1. 15 million in 2018 for a mailing breach where envelopes revealed sensitive information to the wrong recipients.

You finally track down an essential addition to your collector’s set of [insert item of your choice], and you're hyped to buy it until the chaos begins. The cart is hidden in a fly-out on the side, cluttered with blocky, overwhelming text. You spend way too long just trying to find the "Proceed to Checkout" button. 👎 That’s bad UI (user interface): messy, confusing design that makes navigation a chore. You make it to the checkout and start entering your info, but the site keeps rejecting your address.

The Smarty dashboard is your central hub for managing address verification, geocoding, and property data services. Whether you're just starting or looking to optimize your current setup, understanding the dashboard's full capabilities can significantly streamline your address data operations. We recently held a webinar in which we reviewed all of the Smarty dashboard's items and features. Missed it? That's OK; we've got all the information right here. You can expect to read about:Accessing your dashboardSetting up your account for successUnderstanding your active subscriptionsManaging API keys effectivelyStreamlining billing and financial managementStaying informed with smart notificationsTeam management and access controlsWeb toolsMaking the most of free trialsKey takeawaysLet’s get going!Accessing your dashboardGetting to your dashboard is straightforward.

Ever wondered, “Where did all my lookups go?!” Without proper API management, you may burn through your lookups quicker, experience runaway code, and encounter unexpected usage. That’s why Smarty created usage by key (included in all annual plans) and limit by key (included in some plans; you can add them by contacting sales) for its APIs. Why key management mattersCommon API usage challenges (problems to solve):Unexpected spikes in lookupsDifficulty tracking specific key usageWhich keys are calling which Smarty licenseNeed for better control over API consumptionDifficulty allocating Smarty lookups across an organizationWith Smarty's key management features, you gain more control by having better visibility of your usage, eliminating the element of surprise (you know, the bad kind, like when you’re suddenly out of lookups).

If you’re an insurtech company, here’s something you might not have high on your roadmap, but should: application pre-fills. Most insurtechs are focused on the big-ticket items—policy management, quoting engines, claims systems, or risk modeling. And those are excellent, worthwhile ventures. But if you want your insurance carrier clients to really win (and keep renewing with you), you need to help them solve one of their biggest CX + compliance pain points: the insurance application process. Here's what you can expect to learn about in this blog:The upside of smarter prefillingThe cost of bad application dataIncorrect coverage ratesDelays in quoting or onboarding due to manual correctionsExposure to compliance riskBetter prefilling starts with better address intelligencePrefill for compliance, not just conversionProperty data = commercial app game-changerDon't leave core systems halfway integratedTL;DR: why this mattersThe upside of smarter prefillingInsurance carriers care deeply about filling out their applications quickly, accurately, and with as little friction as possible.

Insurance is drowning in data. Some of it’s a goldmine, but much of it’s misleading or incomplete. The sheer volume of information available today—third-party databases, public records, customer input—means that insurers are often using data they can’t fully trust. That’s a big deal. Faulty data leads to underpriced policies. It also leads to overpriced premiums, which turn away potential customers and damage NPS, as well as allows your teams to build faulty risk models. This ultimately leads to destabilized portfolios and paying out more than your fair share in claims, potentially leading to a bankrupt program rather than a profitable one.

When you think about theme parks, you probably think of roller coasters, long lines, and $18 turkey legs. But behind all the fun is a surprising need for something a little less flashy yet still gorgeous as all get out—rock-solid address validation (or address verification, we use them interchangeably). Yes, we’re talking about making sure that the addresses entered by guests are real, valid, and standardized. Why? Because today’s theme parks operate like data-rich, customer-first ecosystems.

International healthcare is complex. Inaccurate or unverifiable international addresses make it worse by delaying claims, increasing compliance risk, opening the door to fraud, and frustrating members. Healthcare companies need global healthcare address verification that’s scalable. Here's how to get there. Why global address verification is especially complex for healthcare companiesHealthcare depends on addresses. While just one datapoint, addresses are foundational to so many critical healthcare management processes and vital to get correct.

When it comes to address verification, getting a match every time might seem like the goal. After all, a system that always returns a validated address must be working perfectly, right?Wrong. If your address verification API always forces a match, no matter what, it’s not being helpful. It’s actually introducing risk. In fact, getting a “no match” result can frequently be the smarter, safer outcome. Let’s talk about why. What is a "no match" telling you?A “no match” means the input address doesn’t align with any known, valid address in the reference database.

OREM, UT, May 2025—The Stevie Awards announced that Smarty won the bronze medal for “Achievement in Customer Satisfaction. ”We’re thrilled to have received this award, as winning a Stevie signals that our customers trust and love Smarty products. What are Stevie Awards?Winning a “Stevie” is a prestigious honor for businesses, often referred to as the “Oscars of the business world. ” Each year, thousands of entries from around the globe are submitted to The American Business Awards® to be judged by more than 200 industry professionals.

Ask most product owners about their address data, and they’ll probably tell you that “it’s good enough. ” But when it comes to address data integrity, the word “enough” should give you serious pause. When it comes to address data, “close enough” is how businesses end up with wasted marketing spend, compliance headaches, failed deliveries, and policies that don’t hold up. It doesn’t matter if you're underwriting insurance on a home, scheduling a broadband install, or mailing a benefits enrollment kit—accuracy isn’t a nice-to-have.

In the world of address validation, not all providers stick to the script. Some go rogue. And while that might work for improv geniuses like Robin Williams or even our own Brady Amundson, when your verification tools start improvising results, creating fictional addresses, and hoping you don’t notice… well, it's like watching a movie adaptation of your favorite book and thinking, “Wait… they burned down the Burrow?!?” (Harry Potter fans, I’m still mad. )If your address verification tool is delivering results that feel more like fan fiction than factual data, and geolocating “validated” addresses in the middle of lakes, it might be time to reconsider the cast.

“Remote shopping, while entirely feasible, will flop. ” Time Magazine (1966). This statement is laughable in today’s society. In the last 60 years, online purchasing has become a daily event, and more online purchases are being made every year. In fact, ​In 2024, total ecommerce sales in the United States reached approximately $1. 19 trillion, marking an 8. 1% increase from 2023. Notably, ecommerce accounted for 16. 1% of total retail sales in 2024, up from 15. 3% the previous year. These purchases aren't just small dollars anymore.

Getting deliveries right starts with getting addresses right. In today’s “I want it now“ world of online shopping, customers expect their orders to show up on time and without any hiccups. And the stakes are high: 87% of customers trust brands with excellent customer service. That’s a big deal when it comes to loyalty. But when something goes wrong — like a package sent to the wrong place, delayed by days, or lost in shipping limbo — trust takes a nosedive. Frustrated customers are less likely to come back and more likely to spread the word (the not-so-good kind).

Ever feel like your address data is cursed?Customers claim their packages never showed up. Your CRM swears by an address that doesn’t exist. Meanwhile, your checkout form mysteriously rejects a perfectly valid street name like it's possessed. Healthcare claim denials, failed insurance verifications, suspicious fintech delays—something strange is definitely going on. Instead of avoiding or running away terrified, we’re investigating the eerie and mysterious on Paranormal Day, May 3. We tip our foil hats to Charles Fort, the original chronicler of the weird and unexplained, and investigate a real threat to your data systems: unverified addresses.

OREM, UT, April 2025—Today, RetailTech Breakthrough Awards announced that Smarty won the “Location Analytics Solution of the Year” award. This is a big win for Smarty because we know that means we’re helping customers just like you achieve pristine address data solutions. YAY!Smarty has been named the "Location Analytics Solution of the Year" by the RetailTech Breakthrough Awards! This prestigious award recognizes top innovators in retail technology, with thousands of nominations from companies worldwide.

Healthcare fraud isn’t just an occasional headache—it’s a $20 billion-a-year black hole draining financial institutions. And that’s just the fraud we know about. As healthcare systems become more complex, fraudsters are also getting smarter, faster, and more creative at exploiting vulnerabilities, especially in address verification. The healthcare industry is an easy target. Medical data can be more valuable than credit card numbers, billing systems are a tangled mess, and the sheer complexity of transactions creates endless opportunities for fraud to slip through unnoticed.

We’ll be honest: there are some rare, creative, and oddly inspiring scenarios in which traditional address validation tools—like Smarty—might not be top of mind. Take Gary, for instance. He runs a mail-order sourdough bakery and believes address typos give his shipping process a “personal touch. ” His customers now expect their loaves to go on postal pilgrimages, complete with handwritten notes and breadcrumb trails. Literally. Or Eleanor, who’s lived in the same town for 62 years, ships packages with descriptions like “the blue house with the tire swing near the old Peterson farm.

Address autocomplete is a powerful tool for improving form completions and ensuring users select real, deliverable addresses at entry. However, to maintain long-term data integrity and enhance address-related insights, address verification is a necessary complement. Here’s why:1. Gain up to 55 points of metadata per verified addressAutocomplete provides real-time address suggestions, while address verification appends additional metadata. Address verification enhances each address with up to 55 points of data, such as:ZIP-9 level accuracy geocoordinates (rooftop accuracy also available)ZIP+4 CodesResidential Delivery Indicator (RDI) to identify residential vs.

Bigfoot. Sasquatch. Ol’ Filthy Albert. No matter what you call him, you know who we’re talking about: the hairy giant cryptid who haunts our collective imagination and, according to about 13% of the US population, wanders the American wilderness. The traditional perception of Sasquatch is that of a solitary creature whose run-ins with people are the unavoidable consequence of human development and exploration. If recent sightings are any indication, it seems the legendary creature may have more on their mind than just staying hidden.

We know it’s not New Year's anymore, but we can still push for improvement and efficiency in our lives. Maybe you’ve lapsed on that goal to be healthier or slightly slipped on your new reading and writing regimen. No worries. Not only are we here to remind you to KEEP GOING on whatever goals you have, but we’re also here to give you an easy-to-implement solution that will create shipping efficiency and stop sending packages into the void. I mean, we’re assuming you don’t like wasting money. If you do… that’s how we’re different.

Let's start with a number that should make every hospital administrator do a double take: $17. 4 million. That’s how much the average hospital loses annually—just from denied claims due to patient misidentification. This isn’t from equipment costs, not from staffing shortages, and not even from insurance negotiations—just from keeping bad patient data. Surely, our forms aren’t that bad. (Yes, they are, and stop calling me Shirley. )But here’s the reality: According to the 2016 Ponemon Misidentification Report, 30% of hospital claims get denied, and over a third of those denials are caused by inaccurate or incomplete patient information.

My name is Jeffrey Duncan, and at the pestering of Smarty’s editor, I’m writing a blog about the many adventures I’ve had in life and how address data has played a big part in them. I met my wife about eight years ago on a dating website. At the time, I lived in Provo, Utah, while she lived in Palmwoods, Australia, on the east coast of Queensland. On this dating app, I entered the area where I was interested in finding someone, about a 25-mile radius of Provo, Utah. I had no intention of leaving the valley, definitely not the state, and certainly not the country.

Healthcare is experiencing a dramatic shift in how patient information is stored and managed. Electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records (EHRs) have become the new standard, driven by two powerful forces: everyone has mobile devices and the increase in the human population. A growing problem with clean address data in EMRs and EHRsWhile EMRs and EHRs offer amazing accessibility and storage capabilities (way better than a filing cabinet), they've also exposed a critical weakness in many healthcare organizations: address data quality.

Address verification isn't just a nice-to-have feature—it's a critical business function that directly impacts your bottom line and customer satisfaction. The impact of reliable address verification extends throughout your entire operation. Every returned package or piece of mail represents wasted shipping costs, lost time, and potential damage to customer relationships. Most importantly, it's an entirely preventable problem. When addresses are verified before shipping, businesses see immediate improvements in delivery success rates and significant reductions in associated costs.

In any industry that’s regulated and works with PII (personally identifiable information), a simple address error can cost more than just a returned letter. With HIPAA violations ranging from $100 to $50,000 per incident and the possibility of criminal charges, getting patient addresses wrong is more than an administrative headache—it's a serious compliance risk under HIPAA, ACA, and other mailing regulations. Our new ebook explores how address data quality directly impacts regulatory compliance, patient privacy, and health equity requirements, among 12 other hot topics.

There are plenty of address data solutions in the sea. You might need to let them off the hook if:Their data accuracy is sufferingToo many false positivesSpotty data availability (lack of international support? Beuller?)Off-the-mark geocoding (not truly rooftop-level accurate)Missing data enrichment (RDI, FIPS, unique ID, secondary addresses, etc. )They don’t flirt nicely (or at all) with your existing systemsThey don’t have an accurate address autocomplete solutionYour relationship with them has become robotic and mundane (When you need help, you have to talk to a robot instead of a real person for support… ew.

In 2024, it’s estimated that online purchases, or ecommerce, made up more than 20% of global retail, with 2. 77 billion people shopping online, and those numbers will only get bigger in the following years. With so much online shopping, more goods and services are being shipped than ever before—including during the height of the Sears catalog in 1970. Side note: If you’re reading this and you don’t know what the Sears catalog was or how much it impacted the average home, it’s worth taking a trip down memory lane and seeing how your elders used to shop.

Shipping optimization is rapidly evolving the retail landscape with advancements in shipping technology. From using robotics to increase efficiency and protect workers from dangerous jobs to autonomous vehicles and drones taking items to hard-to-reach areas, shipping has drastically evolved from the infancy of ecommerce in the 1990s. Sure, the 90s are currently having a pop culture resurgence, but your customers don’t want their shipping experience to go retro. One of the most impactful ways to ship effectively is to use a Shipping Execution System (SES).

In the wake of the recent LA fires that scorched over 10,000 homes and displaced thousands of families, the need for precision in disaster preparation, wildfire risk assessment, and emergency response is clear. Wildfire risk assessment processes are full of pain points for insurance carriers and reinsurance carriers alike: specifically considering risk assessment, efficient response times and routes, and even recovery efforts. This is where address location intelligence can support insurance carriers and governmental entity responses.

Irina O'Hara is one of our uniquely clever, expert frontend developers. She’s immensely talented and has had a vital impact on our website redesign. When it came time to spotlight her, Irina was a joy to sit down with and get to know a little better. To get to the basics, she writes code and creates awesome websites, and she’s darn good at both. BackgroundIrina was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia. However, she wasn't born a development expert and had other aspirations from the start.

In healthcare, the havoc an inaccurate address can wreak on your financial results is significant in more ways than one, and the boost in overall profitability from maintaining a clean address database is equally worth noting. Accurate healthcare address validation improves operational efficiency, patient engagement, and compliance and builds revenue to heights that couldn’t be met without it. Here’s what we’ll be covering:Healthcare address validation pros and consCon: Increased claim denials and organizational costsPro: Reduced claim denials and reprocessing costsCon: Increasing patient match error ratesPro: Improved patient matching and data qualityCon: Complicated billing and collections processesPro: Streamlined billing and collections capabilitiesCon: Exposure to legal liabilitiesPro: Enhanced regulatory compliance and risk aversionCon: Misplaced market strategyPro: Data-driven decision-making and market insightsEpilogue: Avoiding the pain (see our summarized financial savings)Healthcare address validation pros and consThere’s a pro and a con associated with having (or not having 🫣) accurate address data in your healthcare systems.

Cart abandonment is the nemesis of ecommerce. With 70% of carts left stranded, every tweak to your checkout process can lead to significant revenue recovery. Here's how to create a seamless experience, win over customers, and boost conversions. PSST! If you like what you see but don’t want to have to read it, here’s a FREE downloadable guide (in checkbox format for your convenience) for all you skimmers out there. We seriously won’t ask you for a credit card… or anything, really. Building a frictionless checkout experienceA smooth checkout makes all the difference.

This year, Smarty rolled out game-changing products, delivered customer-requested features, and doubled down on innovation to make access to address data faster, easier, and more reliable than ever. Here are some of our 2024 highlights for providing addresses on easy mode. New productsThis year, we launched new products that solve some of your biggest challenges and unlock new possibilities:US GeoReference:Need census tract and block data? We’ve got you covered. US GeoReference helps you comply with governmental regulations while delivering demographic insights that power better decision-making.

Acacia Warner is easily one of the most multifaceted, well-rounded, and uniquely talented people we have here at Smarty. She is an expert ice skater, violinist, and avid gamer. The most important people in her world are her family members, and she loves that her work at Smarty allows her to go home and actually be home. So what does she do for Smarty? She writes and maintains code for our products, specifically our international suite of products. BackgroundAcacia grew up knowing that she was destined for greatness.

Just as wearing an “I voted” sticker has a time and a place, so too does the ugliest sweater you own. That’s right. It’s that time magical time when otherwise sensible adults deliberately dress like their grandmother's couch had a love child with a craft store explosion. The beauty of Ugly Sweater Day lies in its delicious irony – the more you fail at fashion, the more you succeed at the holiday. It's the only day of the year when "Where did you get that hideous thing?" is a genuine compliment.

We love ninjas!Yes, we do!We love ninjas!How about you? crickets We know they’re out there. BUT TODAY IS THEIR DAY, so even though these sneaky, highly-trained martial artists aren’t going to join our cheering throngs, we’ll celebrate them on National Day of the Ninja. Why?Because we’re ninja masters (sort of). We’re really good at solving every address issue just like we believe our fellow shadow warriors would—silently running in the background, solving challenges with unparalleled speed and accuracy.

We're happy to announce a recent partnership with EigenRisk, an insurance technology firm. Below, you will find the announcement they published on their site:ANN ARBOR, MI, December 05, 2024—EigenRisk®, a leading provider of catastrophe risk management solutions, today announced a new agreement with Smarty, a preeminent provider of address data solutions. The agreement will make Smarty’s address location intelligence and geocoding resources available through the EigenPrism® catastrophe risk management platform.

Property data refers to the long and varied list of attributes that characterize or describe real estate assets. A properly configured bulk property data solution can help real estate pros form a reliable and highly detailed picture of an asset, providing vital insights about a property's location, structural features, and financial status long before stepping foot on the premises. Ready to experience supercharged property analytics with Smarty? Click here to try US Property Data live. Otherwise, keep reading as we dig into some real estate property data analytics use cases.

Here is a day to consider protecting sensitive data, whether it's names, addresses, social security numbers, telephone numbers, email addresses, driver's license numbers, passport numbers, financial data, or biometric records! Today's the day to double-check your systems and ensure accurate information management. It’s Computer Security Day, baby! 2-factor authentication? Check. Fingerprint and facial recognition? Check. Passwords over 15 characters long with alternating capital and lowercase letters, symbols, and numbers? Check!Your IT team is metaphorically making you double-pull on that yellow tab to ensure you’re strapped in securely.

PROVO, Utah, April 10, 2024 – The Salt Lake Tribune recently announced that Smarty ranked 8th in the Small Business category for Utah’s Top 2024 Workplaces. We. Are. Pumped. Smarty is a great place to work, and we’re proud to say that the tradition of being publicly recognized as a top workplace is still going strong. If you’re unsure of what the Utah Top Workplaces Awards are or how they’re ranked, here’s the process in a nutshell. First, there’s no cost to participate. This award isn’t a pay-to-play award, and there’s no obligatory purchase of products or services.

HO HO HO! Merry Christmas, my dear friends,I’m taking a minute from my busy toy-making and list-checking (twice) schedule to write you a letter. I know, I know, usually, it’s you and your lovely children writing ME letters, but I’ve loved seeing your efforts to get on the nice list this year and want to give you a peek into how I make the magic happen. Because you made my heart feel warm even at the North Pole, I’m sharing the answer to my most asked question: "How do I deliver billions of gifts to people all over the world?” The magic behind my sleigh rides? Hint: it's not the reindeer… I use Smarty.

The customer experience (CX) landscape is changing faster than a squirrel on espresso 🐿️☕, driven by technological advancements, consumer expectation evolution, and the need for all things to become digital. Maybe you wanna keep up with the change. That’s great. Or even better, you want to get ahead of all the other guys. That’s where Smarty comes in. Looking at what the future of customer experience will be like in 2025 and beyond (supported by relevant statistics and insights from various studies we’ve collected), address autocomplete and verification play a bigger role than you might suspect.

Webinar recap: The holiday sales race is almost on, and if you’re not prepared with your checkout game plan, you might be left behind with a sea of cart abandonments and “Where’s my order?” calls. But fear not! We recently held a webinar with address data experts Caroline Roweton and Brent Francom to talk about the ways bad address data can WRECK your holliday sales bump. They covered 7 ways you can use address data tools like autocomplete and address verification to crush the competition faster than a Black Friday doorbuster crowd will crush your beautiful holiday displays.

Property risk management is a systematic process that identifies potential hazards associated with a property to evaluate and mitigate the risk of potential ownership and/or investment issues. This risk modeling helps measure natural disaster risk, security threats, fire risk, fire protection needs, structural issues, and other factors using property data. If you’re reading this, you already know that real estate risk management is a fickle mistress. One second, you think you’ve figured out the perfect equation to ensure that the commercial property or residential property you’re investing in is going to be a sound one; the next, you’re crunching the numbers, finding new information, and wondering if you should actually start a career as a dog food taster.

Do you know what's more satisfying than watching address autocomplete perfectly fill out online forms? Absolutely nothing—except maybe biting into a warm cinnamon roll on National Cinnamon Day. Mmmmmmm. Speaking of warm and sweet experiences, today we're exploring how address autocomplete (when configured without best practices in mind) can turn from a delightful treat into a bitter disappointment and how address verification can save the day. Personalize the experienceYou know how cinnamon shows up uninvited in every fall-themed product from September through December? No one asked for that, and it's pretty presumptuous.

According to a study by AIThority, the mortgage industry hasn't quiiiiiite caught the vision of property data analytics. More than a third of lenders (37%) are what we might call property data dabblers—they've got access to the basics but not much more. Another 36% of mortgage businesses have enough game to conduct descriptive, post-mortem analyses. Still, a mere 3% of companies are found worthy of wielding a property data API for effective prescriptive analytics. For mortgage, repair, and utility companies willing to put in the work, a proper analytics program fueled by address data APIs is a game-changer.

We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it a zillion more times—nobody puts the “care” in Caroline as Ms. Roweton does! Often referred to as the chill vibes chick around the office, Caroline has a calming presence (unless she’s pulling some seriously rad pranks like stealing Randy Buttons in the dark of night and holding him hostage for days). As an Associate Product Manager, Caroline is responsible for researching and defining Smarty’s international products. She also performs competitive research, communicates with customers, gathers and prioritizes feature requests from them, supports sales through custom deals and pricing, and is pretty much just a superhero.

If you’re here, you appreciate a good horror movie, especially around Halloween time. There are many different subgenres of scary movies: slasher, found footage, psychological horror, supernatural horror, monster, folklore, zombie, gothic fiction, paranormal fiction, and the list goes on and on for a frighteningly long time. One thing all horror movies have in common is a scary setting. Maybe the trees are creepy and dead. Perhaps the house is rotting from the inside out. Sometimes, the location has historical significance with real and traumatic events.

At first glance, standardizing country information seems like a straightforward task. After all, how complicated can it be to manage country codes and names? However, once you start diving into the complexities—multiple users, various languages, diacritics, and more—it becomes clear that this process is far from simple. What if Germany has a different name for France than France does because of language barriers between German and French? (They do. The name “France” in German is “Frankreich,” but “France” in French is “France.

Well, whaddya know, it’s that time again: National Smarties® Day! You’re probably thinking, “I honestly can’t believe Smarty®, my favorite address verification company, has its own day celebrated on a national scale. ” And if you’re thinking that, let me congratulate you on your finely tuned instincts—the existence of such a day strains belief. We’re talking about Smarties, the candy, people. You know, those tart, powdery discs that resoundingly answer the question, “What if chalk, but delicious?” Care to learn more about National Smarties Day? You’re in luck—there's plenty to unwrap.

Nestled snugly in Orem, Utah, address experts huddle in a circle to hear the cautionary tale of the curse of the wrong address. The lights dim, and a hush falls among the group as the flashlight beam fractures in two, lighting the sides of an older man’s face. He clears his throat and begins…Just days after Melissa Darnitall’s 17th birthday, a Victorian house went up for sale in the quaint town of Rolling Hills. Being historians by trade and visiting the city every year to experience what her mother called “the classic Halloween experience,” Melissa’s parents jumped to buy the property.

Happy National Ask a Stupid Question Day! Today’s the day you get a free pass on asking dumb questions like, “Do fish get thirsty?” or “Why isn’t 11 pronounced ‘onety-one’?” We can’t stop people from teasing you until the cows come home (what time is that again?), but we can tell you it’s allowed on this day. In the US, Ask a Stupid Question Day’s default day is today, September 28, but it’s usually observed on the last school day in September. But why?!? Who started this nonsense?Teachers. And….

Everybody in ecommerce, marketing, or sales knows that it’s not just about the 1st sale–you want customers to come back—a lot. On the surface level, it seems fairly simple to understand why. #MoreMoney 💸Return customers liked their first interaction with your company and product so much, they’ve returned to purchase from you a second time. There’s no set schedule to when they’ll return again, and they may only make one more purchase. Repeat customers are loyal customers who keep coming back again and again.

Nerds. While programmers/coders/engineers are extremely clever, we've found they may not fully understand addresses. Sure, they're ready to talk about variables, loops, arrays, the scope of stuff, callbacks, hosting, events, overloading, pattern matching, packets, elements, and more. But if you point out that most house numbering starts at "1" and not "0," their heads may explode. We've worked with quite a few developers and helped them understand the facts around address data, beginning with our own engineers.

84% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products or services, according to a Salesforce report. Over the past decade, the insurance market has become saturated with endless products and options. Buyers have adjusted and evolved in response to the buffet of insurance options, becoming more sophisticated and specific in what they need and want. To keep these sophisticated buyers at your insurance smorgasbord rather than the other guys’, it’s essential to understand their new and improved expectations.

Remember that phrase we all used in middle school, “Well if you love it so much, why don’t you marry it?” Well, we couldn’t agree more. Address data and insurance claims have been partners in an ever-evolving landscape of technology and property for years. Insurance claims rely on geocoding to find the exact location, and property data is used to assess the property's condition and attached amenities before losses. Efficiently deploying adjusters and accurately assessing damage is impossible without accurate address data.

Insurance customers expect quick and customized service and immediate responses in their interactions. Smartphones, online transactions, and digital communications rule the world. Yet, the policy issuance for insurance can be extremely slow and painful. This is due primarily to the fact that accuracy matters so much regarding customer data, and this data takes a while to curate and process. So, how do insurers streamline claims processing while maintaining the highest accuracy levels?Speed and ease go togetherThe quick answer is "automation and digitization.

For underwriting efficiencies and commercial insurance success, the accuracy and reliability of data are crucial. Accurate data improves the risk assessment process and optimizes the overall workflow, saving both time and money. Leveraging Smarty's high-quality address data solutions, precise rooftop geocoding, address verification with PUIDs, and address autocomplete provides a significant advantage in improving insurance underwriting processes. The significance of a single rooftop geocoding vendorTraditional geocoding cascades pose challenges.

In a world where we’re tethered to our phones, business work seeps into our home lives, and AI shoves information down our throats, it can be tough to just chill out. Let’s set a cozier scene: You have nowhere to be, no mess to clean, no person to call, and no commitments to keep. You, my friends, are ready to relax, and it’s the perfect day to do so. For today, August 15, is National Relaxation Day. Relaxation techniquesAs fellow busybees, we understand that sometimes you just need to get things done.

In an age where we treat digital devices like freshly-grown appendages, our obsession with Generative AI is only natural. With minimal prompting, GenAI can write songs, novels, poetry, and more. Some GenAI creations turn out pretty okay, and some turn out less okay (look at this bear/fish hybrid we made), but that’s part of the fun. As GenAI becomes more prominent in our personal and work lives, so too do concerns about its effects. Artists, writers, marketers, and developers alike are becoming nervous that robots will replace them in their careers.

At Smarty®, our company does two main things to maintain a culture of wizardry, fun, and outwardness. First, we have our staff meetings, and second, we have company spotlights. Both events are in-person, where everyone comes together in school-assembly-style seating. We have a small stage with sound and lighting systems to enhance our gatherings. In our staff meetings, we learn about employees, organizational changes, and upcoming events. Our spotlights have become an easy and entertaining way to get to know people from all departments, learn how they contribute to our organization, and learn what makes them unique.

The U. S. homeowner’s insurance segment is facing unprecedented challenges, marked by the worst underwriting results since at least 2000. According to a recent report by AM Best, the segment experienced a staggering $15. 2 billion underwriting loss in 2023, more than double the losses seen in the previous year. They credit this dramatic increase in insured losses primarily to population migration into areas where weather-related events occur more frequently, coupled with rising urbanization and development in regions susceptible to natural perils.

Up until now, SmartyKey®, a persistent unique identifier for all 210+ million addresses in Smarty’s database, has only been available to customers who purchased US Master Address List or geocoding products. We’re happy to announce that, as of today, it's also available at no extra cost with US Address Verification. Yippee!But … what is SmartyKey?SmartyKey is the persistent, unique identifier of your dreams. It remains constant through address changes and is available for USPS and non-USPS addresses.

Don’t panic. We’re not telling you to set up your Christmas lights in July or tune into your favorite holiday station. We’re not crazy here (mostly). But also, do your thang. What we ARE saying is that if you’re in ecommerce, you know just as well as Smarty does that you have to start prepping for those big holidays months in advance. Today is as good as any to see how setting up the right real-time address capabilities, like suggesting verified customer addresses as they type, can get your business in the black on Black Friday.

OREM, UT, July 16, 2024 — Smarty, the address data intelligence leader, announces today the launch of US Secondary Address Data, a new address enrichment API product that seamlessly integrates into an organization's existing systems. Smarty’s US Secondary Address Data provides the exact number of units within a building, such as a business complex and apartment building, including the complete and verified secondary addresses. This functionality is crucial for any organization looking to further market research efforts, create go-to-market plans, boost marketing effectiveness, enhance customer relations, and ensure regulatory compliance.

In our recent webinar, Gianmarco Rosborough, Smarty's legal counsel, provided valuable insights on smart practices and legal considerations for using address data. Smarty offers the most accurate and easy-to-implement address intelligence suite, processing billions of addresses daily with a reliable API. This tool helps businesses clean data, lower shipping costs, and enhance user experiences with exceptional support. If your organization works with addresses, it's important for you to be aware of the legal ramifications of storing bad address data.

It’s that time of year when we toss aside our fears and woes and throw our hands up in celebration; World Juggling Day is here. Whether you toss hacky sacs, bowling pins, flaming torches, or your cookies, juggling has been a long-standing form of fun, fitness, and flair. Let’s talk about this quirky holiday. History of jugglingThe history of juggling is rich and dates back almost 4,000 years. In ancient Egyptian times, tombs shared depictions of juggling. Greeks and Romans also tossed their hats into the juggling arena, yet juggling began to be scorned and overlooked by many in the Middle Ages due to claims that jugglers dealt with immorality and witchcraft.

Alright, gather 'round, fellow wizards and witches! It's time to unveil the secrets to mastering the mystical art of professional development at Smarty. Yes, “wizardry” typically refers to wearing cloaks, wielding wands, riding broomsticks, and mixing potions. At Smarty, we think of “wizardry” as being the best at doing what we do. We’re going above and beyond to not only become experts in our field but also stay that way through shifts in technology and culture. However, being the best shouldn’t be an afterthought; at Smarty, it’s not.

Navigating the depths of corporate cultureIn today's business world, many companies create a surface-level culture within their company structures but stop there, never seeming to invest fully in deepening a healthy culture. Surface-level culture can be visually appealing and immediately gratifying. Imagine, for example, a delicious cake. It’s beautifully decorated but tastes off or is missing an ingredient that spoils the final product. An intentional and deep culture is hard work. It takes time, action, correction, and honest feedback from everyone in the company.

Richard Oliver’s presence at Smarty improves the beauty of our grounds and the spirits of everyone he meets. His life, marked by a series of unique and enriching experiences, shapes his profound impact on our culture. Richard holding his younger brotherRichard was immersed in environments that fostered his curiosity and resilience from a young age. He grew up near the site of the Port Chicago explosion during World War II. When he was at a neighbor's house, he heard the explosion and saw the smoke, and the shockwave blew out the windows of his home 30 miles away!His childhood one-bedroom home also served as a backdrop in the Academy Award-winning film "All the Kings Men.