Global e-commerce survey: UK buys the most books, films and music online

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) December 15, 2011 -- • UK shoppers complain the most about additional duties and tax
• German consumers most frequent online shoppers
• China buys most household goods, clothes and footwear online
• Shipping costs are biggest reason worldwide for abandoning shopping cart

Harlow, UK, December 13, 2011: Pitney Bowes announced the results of a new study today which reveals the online shopping habits of 10,000 consumers in 10 different countries. Designed to help retailers expand their business online to international markets, the study highlights differences and similarities in buying behaviour across developed economies and emerging markets.

Commissioned by Pitney Bowes, the study questioned consumers in: UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the United States.

Germany, UK and Japan most frequent online shoppers

The study found that even though 93% of all respondents had shopped online in the past, when asked if they had bought items via the web in the last 30 days, Germans were the most frequent shoppers with 66% of consumers having done so. This was followed closely by the UK (65%) and Japan (65%). The least frequent were those in Canada with only 31%, South Korea (35%) and China (38%).


Products bought online – UK buys most books, films and music online

The most popular category worldwide for online shopping was books, films and music, with UK shoppers the biggest purchasers of these goods (77%). Chinese consumers topped three further categories, purchasing more household goods (57%), apparel (58%) and footwear (53%) online than any other country. The study also found that most computer hardware/software or consumer electronics are bought online by Brazilian consumers (59%).

UK complains the most

The study also showed significant differences in why consumers abandon online shopping carts. Overall, high shipping costs (67%), additional fees at time of delivery such as duties and taxes (47%) and the delivery time (39%), were the top disincentives to complete purchases.

Shipping prices were the biggest turn-off in the US, UK and Japan. Consumers in the US (83%), UK (79%) and Japan (78%) are three times more sensitive to shipping prices than consumers in South Korea (25%).

UK consumers complained the most about additional duty and tax fees at time of delivery with 65% saying they are an obstacle to completing a purchase. UK shoppers also topped the complaints about product descriptions being in a foreign language (46%), merchants not accepting their credit card (41%) and pricing not being in UK currency (44%).

Global differences

Price of products was found to be the most important consideration when shopping online for all 10 countries. However, other consumer preferences varied. For example:

• Ease and speed of the online checkout process was more important to consumers in Germany and South Korea (both 59%) but much less important in Japan (11% of consumers).
• French consumers were seven times more interested in the ability to track an order than Japanese consumers (37% versus 5%).

• A clear and easy to understand return policy was almost three times more important to consumers in China (36%) than to consumers in Brazil and the US (both 13%).

“To be successful, retailers need to ensure they can offer a simple and seamless online shopping experience and have a clear understanding of consumers’ purchasing, shipping and communications preferences in each market.” said Patrick Jelly, Pitney Bowes.

When asked about preferences for receiving information on new products, promotions or other offers from retailers/merchandisers, 59% of global consumers indicated they prefer email, 25% of respondents said they prefer to receive information in catalogues and direct mail, indicating that mail is another strong channel which online retailers should consider when communicating.