Fashion is top category for cross-border online shopping

New research suggests 57 per cent of online shoppers around the world have made at least one online purchase from a company based in another country in the last 12 months – while a further 22 per cent have considered doing so. Clothing and Footwear are the products they are most likely to purchase, but people are less likely to give eCommerce brands based abroad a second chance if they make a mistake with their order.

The survey of 2,035 online shoppers in the US, Germany, Australia, and the UK was commissioned by Logistyx Technologies. It highlights that clothing and footwear are the products most likely to generate cross-border eCommerce sales, with more than half (56 per cent) of respondents saying they are likely to consider ordering these items from abroad.

The second most popular category for cross-border eCommerce orders is sport, hobbies, leisure products (44 per cent of online shoppers would consider ordering these items from other countries), followed by health and beauty (42 per cent), and consumer electronics, computers, phones (41 per cent).

43 per cent of survey respondents agree or strongly agree that doing more online shopping in general during the pandemic means they are now more willing to consider cross-border eCommerce purchases. However, many continue to have a poor opinion of the delivery experience for international eCommerce and are less forgiving if things go wrong. For example, a little more than 59 per cent of online shoppers agree (24 per cent strongly) they are less likely to give a company in another country a second chance if they make a mistake with their order.

Approximately 66 per cent of respondents say they believe cross-border purchases will arrive later than promised, while 47 per cent believe they are more likely to be damaged in transit. Not only do 69 per cent believe delivery charges will be higher for international orders, but 59 per cent believe they will have to pay additional fees or duties which have not been made clear at checkout.

Overall, product returns remain one of the biggest concerns related to cross-border purchases, with 73 per cent believing returning products will be more difficult.

On top of this, online shoppers think it will be more difficult to get help if they need information about their order, with 64 per cent believing it will be harder to contact the company to ask about their order than if buying from a domestic business.

“People are definitely becoming more open to shopping on eCommerce sites based in other countries, which is great news for online retail businesses,” said Geoffrey Finlay, CEO of Logistyx. “But if you want to win and retain international customers, you need to address the key concerns around shipping and delivery highlighted by our research. While you can mitigate some of these issues by implementing the right supply chain systems, you also need to select the right carriers for each country or region both in terms of service level and costs. It’s essential to work with carriers that can provide visibility over the end-to-end parcel delivery journey – ideally in real time, and you should be sure to leverage carrier performance data to identify opportunities to improve processes.”

Asked what factors would encourage them to make an online purchase from a company in another country, top of the list for online shoppers in the research was a guaranteed free returns policy. A large majority (72 per cent) of respondents agree this would encourage them to make an online purchase from a company in another country. Next came the ability to easily track orders online (71 per cent), with up-front transparency about additional charges or taxes for cross-border orders (70 per cent).

“Many of these issues revolve around giving control and clarity to cross-border shoppers,” said Finlay. “Returns appear to be a major pain point. While making them free may not always be feasible given the cost and complexity of international shipping, it’s important to make the process as easy and hassle-free as possible. Be clear about returns policies, provide returns packaging and labels with the original parcel, make booking a return quick and painless, and ensure the refund is initiated as soon as the return is collected from the customer.”

Seven factors online shoppers agree would encourage cross-border purchases