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A survey of 250 British retailers by Global-e has revealed 59 per cent consider the US to be the most important ecommerce market. Despite this, only 44 per cent of UK retailers are actually selling to consumers in the States, and 13 per cent are planning to start selling to this market.
Global-e supports its claim that America is prime ecommerce territory with insights sourced from ecommerce data portal, Internet Retailer. This data suggests the US is one of the most successful ecommerce channels in the world, with online sales reaching $341.7 billion last year.
Nir Debbi CMO and co-founder of Global-e, said: “Now is an opportune time for British retailers to do business in the United States. US consumers’ appetite for cross-border shopping is growing rapidly. Following the new rules, they can now buy more for the same price from abroad, which is great news for foreign retailers selling into the US. Particularly for British retailers, where post-Brexit shock has caused the American dollar to surge against the British pound.”
Despite British retailers appreciating the ecommerce opportunities the American online retail market has to offer, 42 per cent of them stated shipping and custom issues created obstacles. However, Global-e’s study highlights a new US bill, which was introduced this year making online retail more attractive to British retail owners, because the bill has paved the way for American shoppers to shop online tax free from overseas retailers. The bill also means import taxes are considerably lower.
Debbi suggests British retailers should overcome these issues in order to capitalise upon American shoppers’ enthusiasm for online retail: “Retailers should take into consideration the local competition and remove major barriers in order to realise the full potential of the US ecommerce market.
“Most retailers fail to offer overseas customers their local payment methods, localised pricing, or multiple shipping options at attractive rates and local return options – which impacts conversions abroad. Retailers must streamline the customer experience by providing localisation, this needn’t mean building a standalone website from the outset, or negotiating deals in every market. Retailers can achieve this high standard without investing heavy time and money into the process by working with specialist partners to achieve the personalisation the consumer expects.”
