When it Comes to Cross-Border Transactions, Merchants Can’t Hesitate

It’s a fact that we live in an increasingly globalized society. In the United States, 54% of digital shoppers made a purchase from a foreign retail site at some point in the past, and globally the number skyrockets: According to UPS, 82% of global shoppers have made at least one purchase from a merchant abroad this year alone.

A Major Opportunity for Online Retailers

With 35% of customers regularly shopping on sites based outside of their home country in 2015 (up from 26% in 2014), cross-border transactions will continue to become more habitual, and it’s projected that the total global revenue will amount to nearly $2 trillion of worldwide retail sales by 2018.

Cross-border commerce is hitting its stride, but some retailers still face challenges meeting the needs of the border-agnostic shopper. From knowing why the customers are searching for products from outside their home country to knowing how they intend to pay, retailers who have not embraced those shoppers from outside their own country are doing themselves a disservice.

A few facts to consider, shared by PFSweb’s Cross-Border Ecommerce whitepaper:

• S. Retailers Have a Unique Opportunity: The U.S. is favored by 26% of global cross-border shoppers, a percent higher than any other country, and 75% of respondents who had made a foreign purchase selected the U.S. as their top destination for digital shopping.
• Chinese Shoppers Need Foreign Retailers: Currently, cross-border sales account for over 17% of China’s retail import and export market. Knowing this, as the Chinese shopper becomes more connected and has more money to spend, he or she is demanding authentic, available products. According to DHL, 77% of respondents cited the need for goods unavailable in China as their top reason for cross-border shopping, with 67% stating they wanted better quality assurance when buying items to ensure the legitimacy of their purchases.
• UK Retailers Among the Most Prepared International Retailers: In 2014, the UK accounted for $70 billion, or 18% of the Europe’s cross-border sales, amassing $21 billion more in international sales than the next closest country. With this in mind, online retailers in the UK are very apt to sell their wares internationally: Approximately 67% of U.K. retailers offered worldwide delivery last year and 65% of their online sales revenue came from international orders.

A Range of Challenges as Well

While more consumers seek out retailers from other countries, these retailers face new challenges if they hope to move into the international arena. Among the top listed concerns from shoppers: timeliness, shipping costs, long delivery times, and quality of shipping (no broken items).

We took a deeper look at consumer needs from online merchants in a blog, noting the top five preferences for shoppers in Asia, Europe, Brazil, Mexico, and the US, according to a UPS survey.

A Logical First Step for Retailers Looking to Appease International Shoppers

As organizations face challenges taking their ecommerce into the global arena, there are many places to begin, but one of the more logical steps organizations need to take is to learn the payment preferences of those shopping, and being able to offer the best payments option based on the unique needs. Additionally, expanding internationally requires offering not just the right payment methods and acquiring options, but also the ability to configure them quickly and efficiently.

There are many ways that retailers can adjust the way they accept payments, and the first path is providing a secure, efficient, and optimized experience for customers in each country and currency with which you wish to work.

Stay up to date with more trends in payments, ecommerce, and more by following @WEXIncNews on Twitter, and by reading the following resources:

• A Brief Look at Tokenization in the Payments Industry
• Growth in e-Commerce Fuels Development of Mobile Security Solutions
• The Future of B2B eCommerce, Part 1: The Challenges
• Will Blockchain Technology Power the Future of Payments?
• A Brief History of Payments: From Stones to Phones [Infographic]
• Social Commerce: Mobile Shopping Made Easy