Half of online shoppers buy cross-border

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more consumers find their way to online stores. It has encouraged consumers to buy from retailers they have never ordered from before. Ultimately, this has made cross-border shopping grow exponentially. Up to 55% of online shoppers from around the world are open to buying holiday gifts from other countries than their own.

There has been an increased willingness among shoppers to buy from other countries. This is due to the online purchasing growing exponentially since the start of the pandemic last year.

For retailers and direct-to-consumer companies to realize the true potential of overseas gift sales during the festive shopping season, there are some clear issues to address.

Consumers fear that orders will not arrive in time

There are five learnings for e-commerce brands that want to take advantage of cross-border sales during the festive season. Though consumers are interested in buying elsewhere, almost half (48%) of them are also concerned that their cross-order purchases will not arrive in time. Up to 69 % of said that access to online tracking could convince them to place a cross-border order.

Online cross-border sellers should also give an estimated delivery time in their website. This would be a factor in the purchasing decision of 69% of consumers, helping them overcome worries about the order not arriving in time.

69% want an easy return process

There are issues that most online retailers will probably already be familiar with. Consumers want an easy return process (69%). Even when it is a cross-border purchase. Being clear un upfront about delivery costs and any taxes would also impact the consumer’s decision to buy from another country (61%).

Online sellers that are not clear about these additional costs could receive negative reviews. Ultimately, this results in lower conversion. Lastly, 60% of consumers think that holiday sales or promotions would influence them to buy from a company overseas.