Air, Freight News

UK online buyers look abroad

[ February 9, 2015   //   Chris ]

Over 35% of UK correspondents to a new FedEx-commissioned survey said that they make online purchases of goods from merchants outside their country at least every few months. According to the survey by Forrester Consulting, UK buyers look to smaller international retailers because the prices are generally lower (41%), or to source specialist or unique items (38%). UK shoppers also indicated a greater interest in international cross-border shopping where the experience provided simple exchanges, guaranteed costs at check-out including duties and taxes, and free returns, with 45% saying this was very influential to their decision making.

Primary online shopping destinations are the US, China and the UK.  While shoppers indicated buying cross-border from all 17 international markets included in the study, the US, China and the UK were also the top three exporters of online purchases.

However, duties and taxes curb cross-border activity – 35% of global respondents cited high duties/taxes as a concern for cross-border shopping with the most significant numbers coming from Canada.

FedEx’s , chief operating officer, international, FedEx Express, David Cunningham, said: “The results of this study on global trends suggests that streamlining regulations by harmonizing duty free limits across the globe could result in a significant uptick in cross-border trade, benefiting consumers and businesses around the world.”

Tags: FedEx