ClearSale has published a detailed review of its five-country consumer behaviour study conducted by Sapio Research, entitled 2021 Global Ecommerce Consumer Behaviour Analysis. The study shows retailers how online shoppers determine which e-commerce stores to purchase from and avoid in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Mexico and Australia.
The research was conducted at the beginning of March 2020 and surveyed more than 1,000 frequent online shoppers in each country. Among other subjects, the survey asked shoppers for their views on online security and data privacy, their worries about online fraud and where they choose to shop.
“With so much growth in online shopping worldwide this year, we want to help merchants understand customer attitudes so they can meet the expectations of their ideal customers, whether those are American Baby Boomers, Mexican millennials or Gen Z Australians,” said Rafael Lourenco, ClearSale Executive Vice President in a statement.
Among the survey results, 52 per cent of all consumers order from overseas merchants as well as in-country retailers and 50 per cent are most likely to shop on a phone or tablet.
“These numbers show that merchants that don’t accept cross-border orders and provide a good mobile experience are missing out on half of their potential customers,” Lourenco said.
The survey also showed that customers are concerned about fraud, but have no patience for merchants who wrongly refuse their orders.
Seventy-eight per cent of all consumers agrees that online shopping is safe or safer than shopping in stores, even though 42 per cent were victims of online fraud. Thirty-nine per cent of all customers say they will never shop with a retailer who refuses their order again.
“Here we see the importance of letting customers know that your store has fraud protection, as well as the need to avoid false declines that drive customers away and reduce average customer lifetime value,” Lourenco said.
The survey also found differences in consumer behaviour between countries. It is interesting to see that 72 per cent of Mexican online shoppers and 60 per cent of Australian online shoppers order from both overseas and in-country merchants, compared to only 37 per cent of U.S. and U.K. shoppers.
Meanwhile, 64 per cent of Mexican shoppers read merchant reviews before making an online purchase, but only 34 per cent of U.K. shoppers do. Also, Australian and U.S. shoppers are the most likely to abandon a purchase if asked to create a customer account.
“Any merchant who wants to understand their customers’ behavior can use this information to improve their customer experience and reach cross-border customers more effectively,” Lourenco said.
