Online shoppers worldwide want more flexibility when it comes to delivery and payment optionsbut also when searching and shopping on multiple channels and devices, the latest consumer survey
by UPS revealed.Conducted in cooperation with the market research firm comScore, the second ‘UPS Pulse of theOnline Shopper Global Study’ outlined global online shopping trends in the leading e-commercemarkets in Asia, Brazil, Europe, Mexico and the USA.
What all online shoppers across these markets have in common is the desire for alternativedelivery options, the study noted. This requirement is especially high in Asia where 45% ofrespondents said they would prefer to have their online order delivered to locations other thantheir home. When they are not at home to sign for a parcel, 33% said they would like their items tobe shipped to a local retail location that is authorised to hold the package for pickup at theirconvenience.
Asian shoppers are also the least patient, as 27% of the respondents expect same-day delivery tobe offered by retailers and 48% consider next-day delivery as an obligatory option to choosefrom.
When it comes to online shopping habits, Brazilian consumers are the most advanced and ‘social’,making more than half (56%) of their purchases online, the highest of any market, while 64% of therespondents are influenced by reviews or posts on social media to help decide which products tobuy. However, they also named several challenges when shopping on a mobile device: 39% said theycan’t get a clear or large product image while 31% cannot easily view product information and 34%find it hard to compare products. Over a third (38%) of online shoppers in Brazil are willing towait 11 days or more for their international orders in order to qualify for free shipping.
In Europe, an increasing trend towards shopping on mobile devices can be observed. However,European online shoppers make the fewest purchases on a smartphone (19%), compared to the otherfour markets, and fewer than half (40%) use retailer mobile apps. In contrast, they make morein-store purchases (54%) than they do online. In terms of delivery options, 52% prefer to see theexpected arrival date of their parcel rather than the number of days it will take for the item toarrive.
In Mexico, fraud-related delivery issues have been quoted as a major concern. In terms of mobiletechnology, 43% use their smartphones to search for products before visiting a store. Mexicanonline shoppers also have the lowest return rate of any market, with only 35%.
In the USA, online shoppers are open to new trends on social media and in-store technologies,making more purchases on tablets than any other market, the study found. Free shipping continues todrive purchasing decisions as 58% of online shoppers reported adding items to their shopping cartin order to qualify for the incentive. Furthermore, 83% are willing to wait an additional two daysfor delivery if shipping is free, and 68% said free returns shipping is needed to complete a sale.Only 44% of online shoppers said they were satisfied with the flexibility of changing delivery daysor rerouting packages.
Alan Gershenhorn, UPS executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said: “Consumersdemand more from their package delivery experience, and today’s online shopper expects us torespond by creating solutions that are convenient for them. Globally, we now have more than 13million UPS My Choice members and over 15,000 UPS Access Point locations and we continue to expandboth services to meet their needs.”
For the global study, comScore surveyed more than 19,000 frequent online shoppers in the USA,Brazil, Europe (France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK), Asia (China, Hong Kong,Japan, Singapore and South Korea), and Mexico.
