With the growth of the internet and its reach into every corner of the world, companies in recent years have increasingly started to deliver their products to more people in foreign markets through online channels. This gives sellers an advantage beyond simply being present in the domestic market, while also offering consumers access to a wider product range, or to the same or similar products at more affordable prices.
According to the data from the 2018 Cross-Border Consumer Survey report conducted by PayPal with approximately 34 thousand consumers aged over 18 in 31 countries, the share of consumers in each region who shop only in the local market, who shop in both local and cross-border markets, and who shop only cross-border has been determined.
The conclusions that can be drawn from the study are listed below:
• The consumer profile that shops cross-border in addition to local markets, or only cross-border, is seen most in the Middle East. Following the Middle East, the leading regions in cross-border shopping are Africa and Europe. The main reasons cross-border trade is widespread in these regions may be flexibility in customs regulations, ease in tax legislation, and customers having to pay more in their own region than the cross-border sale price for the products they want, or not being able to access the relevant product at all.
• Looking at the European continent, consumers in Ireland shop only from cross-border markets at a rate of 19%, and from both cross-border and local markets at a rate of 65%, which is among the highest in the world.
• Austria, Belgium and Russia also have consumers who make a significant amount of cross-border purchases. Research shows that Austria and Belgium in particular export predominantly to their neighbors on the European continent, and for all of these countries, exports from China rank second.
• In Asia Pacific and North America, both regions have a consumer base of 40% that prefers to shop only from local and cross-border markets.
According to the information reported in the IPC study, which examined the countries with the most transactions in cross-border e-commerce behavior:
• China sources 42% of its cross-border imports from Japan, 14% from the USA and 12% from Hong Kong.
• American consumers order products 57% from China, 10% from the United Kingdom and 6% from Canada.
• Consumers in Russia buy products 83% from China, 5% from the USA and 2% from Germany.
• The United Kingdom buys products 50% from China, 19% from the USA and 7% from Germany.
When the categories in which users transact most intensively are examined, clothing and footwear are observed to be in first place. These are followed by consumer electronics and beauty and personal care categories, and together these categories account for close to 60% of the total.
