This barrier was acknowledged by 64% of the respondents, according to the 2015 Online Shopping study issued by Pitney Bowes provider of ecommerce solutions. It was followed by additional fees owed at time of delivery (48%) and product delivery taking too long (39%), chainstoreage.com reports.
Product returns are also a major concern, as 33% of global shoppers cited online return policies and processes as deterrents. Another barrier is localisation, with 30% of global online shoppers saying they would be discouraged from completing a purchase with merchants who do not offer their preferred form of payment.
Additional barriers include not being able to read a product description because it is in a foreign language (29%), merchants not accepting credit cards (27%) and when pricing is not in a country’s local currency (25%). In addition, search engines still lead in finding products, and that online marketplaces and retailers’ websites are the top choices for buying online.
62% of online shoppers are using search engines as the preferred method to find products. When international consumers were asked what types of online websites they would consider purchasing from, 66% chose online marketplaces, while 62% selected retailers’ websites.
Nearly a quarter of consumers said they make the most online purchases on mobile devices – including mobile/smart phones, tablets or other devices – or a mix of devices. Online shoppers in the UK (37%), India (36%) and China (34%), and the US (29%) had the highest rates for using a mobile device, or mix of devices.
33% of millennials (ages 18 to 34) are using mobile devices, or a mix of devices, compared to 24% of overall consumers in the study. The US (71%), UK (44%) and Germany (39%) continue to be the most desirable e-destinations for consumers to purchase goods online outside their own country.
A third of global online shoppers have purchased products online from retailers in other countries. Australians continue to be the most likely to buy products online from retailers outside their own country (63% in 2015 and 2014 studies) followed by Canada (48% in 2015 versus 54% in 2014) and Russia (49% in 2015 versus 54%).
Price is the top reason (61%) shoppers have purchased or would consider purchasing a product from an online retailer outside of their own country, followed by availability (40%), quality and better selection (both 30%). Product authenticity was highest in India, (36%), China and South Korea (both 30%) and Russia (22%).
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