The overwhelming majority of cross-border online shoppers around the world are satisfied with deliveries but there is still room for improvement, according to an extensive survey by IPC.
The survey in 17 major markets found that 84% of cross-border shoppers were either satisfied or very satisfied with their delivery experience. There was no significant difference between delivery experience satisfaction between postal operators or their competitors.
However, key areas for improvement for delivery carriers remain reliability, tracking and transparency on customs duties and taxes consumers will have to pay when the parcel is delivered, IPC said. “Timely delivery is the most important element to be addressed for cross-border shopping as cross-border shoppers would like to know the specific date their order will be delivered.”
According to the survey, 59% of frequent cross-border online shoppers were offered free shipping. In EU countries covered in this survey, up to 62% of frequent cross-border online shoppers received free shipping. For 67% of those who received free shipping, it was because the retailer offers free shipping. 16% of respondents were offered free shipping because they ordered goods above a certain value, 15% benefited from a free shipping promotion and 3% were offered free shipping because they were part of a loyalty programme. 27% of frequent online cross-border shoppers paid less than €10 for the shipping.
In terms of consumer preferences, the survey found significant differences between China, with a large number of frequent cross-border online shoppers, and the rest of the world. While on average, 63% of frequent cross-border online shoppers around the world shop cross-border at least once a month, in China no less than 99% of frequent cross-border online shoppers shop cross-border at least once a month.
In rating the importance of different features when shopping online cross-border, reliability was rated the highest, followed by a simple returns process and then the provision of a landed cost calculator at check-out. The majority of consumers (76%) prefer to have their cross-border parcels delivered to their home address.
A computer is still the preferred device for cross-border online shoppers (77%), but in China 53% of frequent cross-border online shoppers prefer to make purchases on a smartphone or a tablet. When comparing age profiles of frequent cross-border online shoppers, 90% of consumers between 16 and 34 prefer to make purchases on a smartphone or a tablet, compared to just 9% of consumers aged over 65.
The majority, (80%) of frequent cross-border online shoppers bought goods from China (29%), the United Kingdom (19%), Germany (14%), the United States (13%) and France (5%). Chinese e-Commerce exports are dominated by the Alibaba Group with 69% of all orders placed on AliExpress or eBay, which sells in China on the Alibaba platform.
On average, clothing, footwear and apparel was the largest category (25%) for cross-border online shoppers, followed by consumer electronics (14%), and books, music and media (11%).
When looking at the value of the goods bought by cross-border online shoppers, the majority (59%) were between €10 and €100 on average. However in China, the average value of goods purchased was considerably higher, with 65% between €101 and €300.
Herbert-Michael Zapf, President and CEO of IPC, commented: “This survey undertaken in 17 global markets provides us with valuable insights to help postal operators understand and meet the evolving needs for cross-border e-Commerce, and will therefore be repeated annually. Cross-border is continuously growing and for this to continue it is important for postal operators to understand consumers’ behaviour in order to meet their need for more convenience and remove remaining obstacles for consumers to embrace cross-border e-Commerce.”
