Gift-givers in both countries said they were turning their back on brick-and-mortar stores because the shops are too crowded at Christmas and buying online makes it easier to compare prices and get a good deal. However, freewheeling UK consumers are more likely than sensible Germans to do their shopping in the car — 3.2% compared to 0.9%.
Almost 17% of UK and over a quarter of Germans said they planned to do their Christmas shop from their work PC, during work hours. One of the big surprises thrown up by the survey was the fact that people return to traditional PCs for their online festive shop. More than 70% of UK and over 80% of the German consumers said they planned to do their present shopping on a laptop or desktop PC. Neither nationality was that enthusiastic about using a mobile device but of the two, UK consumers were more likely to shop using their mobile — 14% compared to 9%.
Shoppers in both countries reported having abandoned an online purchase (47% of UK and 53% of German consumers). The UK counterparts were far more likely to abandon because the payment process was too complicated (31%, compared to just 13% of the German respondents). Almost 30% of UK shoppers said the payment process simply didn’t work, compared to just 15% of Germans. The most common reason for Germans to abandon a purchase was that their preferred payment method was not supported by the merchant.
PPRO’s CEO, Simon Black, comments on the findings: “Our research paints the picture of a savvy shopper who has high expectations of online shopping. They have the power of choice and the world of online merchants at their fingertips, and they know it. Plus, they won’t stick around if they can’t pay for their gifts quickly and easily, especially at Christmas when stress levels are high.
“If online merchants want to succeed in cross-border sales, they need to do their homework and realise it’s not enough just to offer credit card payments. Countries in Europe and other regions all have their own preferred ways of paying, whether it is iDEAL in the Netherlands, online bank transfers in Germany or SEPA direct debit in the EURO zone. Only those merchants armed with their target audiences’ preferred local online payment methods will succeed during this busy festive period and beyond.”
The PPRO survey inquired over a thousand Christmas-shoppers in each country about their present-buying plans. For more information about PPRO Group, please check out a detailed profile of this company in our dedicated, industry-specific online company database.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now