Pitney Bowes Study Reveals U.S., U.K. and Germany are the Most Desirable International Shopping e-Destinations
October 29 2014 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
Research Also Reveals Most Prevalent
Barriers to Cross-border Purchases are Shipping Costs, Delivery
Times and Safety
New global, online shopping research from Pitney Bowes Inc.
(NYSE:PBI) reveals that cross-border ecommerce is gaining traction
with nearly 40 percent of consumers having purchased goods online
from another country. The market opportunity for online retailers
looking for a global foothold remains significant.
According to the 2014 Pitney Bowes Global Online Shopping Study,
the U.S., U.K. and Germany are the most desirable e-destinations
for consumers to purchase goods online outside their own country.
As a result, retailers based in these countries are in a great
position to tap into this trend to expand their reach to global
buyers. Australians are the most likely to buy products online from
retailers outside their own country (63 percent) followed by Canada
and Russia (both 54 percent). Surprisingly, shoppers in South Korea
(21 percent), China (19 percent), and India and Japan (both 15
percent) ranked highest in believing they can only purchase goods
online from retailers in their own country.
While nearly all respondents (96 percent) have made an online
purchase, the relatively low cross-border purchases highlight an
opportunity for international retailers that want to capitalize on
the $1.5 trillion market opportunity (citation: eMarketer). The
Pitney Bowes research reveals that consumer misperceptions around
cross-border shopping represent a valuable opportunity for global
retailers to raise awareness around the ease and accessibility of
online shopping.
“Retailers looking to expand their businesses online to
international markets should consider the unique mindsets and
shopping preferences of consumers in each country,” says Craig
Reed, Vice President of Global Ecommerce, Pitney Bowes. “In
addition, it’s critical for retailers to provide buyers with
clarity and accuracy in the online buying process, certainty and
transparency in delivery, and competitive pricing. Once these
barriers to consumer confidence are overcome, the opportunities and
appetite for buying goods outside their own country can increase
dramatically.”
Barriers to Adoption
According to the study, the biggest barrier to cross-border
commerce is high shipping costs (68 percent). This is followed by
additional fees at time of delivery, such as duties and taxes (58
percent). Product delivery taking too long was the third largest
barrier to completing an online purchase (42 percent).
Another major concern is perceived safety, including data
security and fraud. Only 46 percent of respondents said that they
thought it was safe to buy a product online from a retailer based
outside of their own country. Another 33 percent said they didn’t
know if it was safe. Consumers in Japan were by far the least
likely to believe that these purchases are safe (17 percent), while
over 60 percent of respondents in Australia, Canada, India and
Brazil thought it was safe.
These findings indicate that security and real-time fraud
detection is an important capability that retailers should consider
incorporating into their international ecommerce
business--educating global buyers on the safety of online purchases
is vital.
Additional study findings
- Price is the top reason (68 percent)
why shoppers have purchased a product from an online retailer
outside of their own country or would consider doing so. This was
followed by availability (46 percent) and better selection (38
percent). Brand names were the highest with consumers in India (52
percent) and China (34 percent), followed by Russia and South Korea
(both 27 percent).
- The U.S. is by far the top country (70
percent) to be considered by shoppers who have purchased products
online or would consider doing so. However, there was a major
exception: Russia. While 54 percent of Russian respondents have
made international ecommerce purchases, only 35 percent would
purchase from the U.S.
- The ability to track an international
order was most important to consumers in Brazil (41 percent), the
U.S. (40 percent) and Japan (39 percent), among those who have
purchased products online from retailers in other countries or
would consider doing so.
Methodology: The 2014 Pitney Bowes Global Online Shopping Study
was conducted online by ORC International and surveyed
approximately 12,000 adults across 12 countries regarding their
perceptions, habits and preferences for making online purchases.
Consumers were polled in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France,
Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, the United Kingdom, and
the United States. The survey was conducted in August 2014.
About Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes provides technology solutions for small, mid-size
and large firms that help them connect with customers to build
loyalty and grow revenue. Many of the company’s solutions are
delivered on open platforms to best organize, analyze and apply
both public and proprietary data to two-way customer
communications. Pitney Bowes includes direct mail, transactional
mail and call center communications in its solution mix along with
digital channel messaging for the Web, email and mobile
applications. Pitney Bowes: Every connection is a new opportunity™.
www.pb.com.
Media:Pitney Bowes Inc.Karen King,
203-351-6189karen.king@pb.com
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