8 cross-border e-commerce statistics you need to know
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February 2 2023
Wondering about the true opportunity presented by cross-border e-commerce? Maybe you already see at least 5% of your traffic originating from outside your home country, but are not sure if it’s worth your time and effort to find a way to sell to these global shoppers. On top of that, what are the customer trends and how can you take advantage of them? We’ve compiled these eight statistics to help you answer those questions.
1. International shopping habits accelerated during the pandemic—57% now shop globally online.
“More than half of online shoppers surveyed in the U.S., Germany, Australia, and the U.K. had made at least one online purchase from abroad as of August 2021. In addition, another 22 percent were considering doing so. Regarding what brought them to cross-border e-commerce, 43 percent somewhat or strongly agreed that the increased usage of online shopping during the pandemic encouraged them to consider buying from overseas.”
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/509454/attitudes-to-ordering-abroad-worldwide
2. “Too high shipping costs” were the main reason for shopping cart abandonment.
In 2021, too high shipping costs were the main reason among 69 percent of online shoppers from the United States for abandoning their purchase while shopping with brands from the United Kingdom. The second most common abandonment reason was that the delivery time would be too long, with 62 percent of respondents. Additionally, 44 percent of U.S. shoppers abandoned their UK order because they did not want to risk paying for import duties when picking up their package.
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1296824/reasons-us-shoppers-abandon-uk-purchases-online
3. Global shoppers are primarily after apparel, electronics, and health & beauty products.
“The three leading categories bought cross-border were clothing, footwear & apparel (34%), consumer electronics (22%), and health & beauty (19%).”
Source: https://www.ipc.be/services/markets-and-regulations/cross-border-shopper-survey
4. Customer satisfaction is lowest for delivery speed.
“The IPC Cross-Border E-Commerce Shopper Survey 2021 asked respondents for their level of satisfaction with each element of the delivery process: delivery cost, tracking, speed, delivery location, customs and returns. Satisfaction was highest for delivery location (68% extremely / very satisfied) and lowest for delivery speed (46%).
Source: https://www.ipc.be/services/markets-and-regulations/cross-border-shopper-survey
5. $719 billion in 2021 and an estimated $5.576 trillion by 2025.
“The global cross-border B2C e-commerce market size was valued at USD 719.02 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.8% from 2022 to 2030, reaching USD 5,576.73 billion.”
Source: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/cross-border-b2c-e-commerce-market-report
6. US-based merchants account for almost 50% of cross-border e-commerce purchases.
“US-based merchants remain a top seller worldwide, making up almost 50% of cross-border e-commerce purchases in Canada, Mexico, South Korea and Brazil. China currently spends over $79B on cross-border e-commerce purchases from US-based merchants.”
7. Cross-border e-commerce will outpace domestic e-commerce, by almost twice as much.
“The value of cross-border E-commerce has been predicted to grow by 25% a year – almost twice as fast as domestic E-commerce.”
8. Fast and free shipping makes all the difference.
“91% of shoppers will abandon retail sites if they don’t offer fast or free shipping.”
These statistics make it clear that a staggering opportunity exists for e-commerce brands. Ready to take advantage of the global cross-border movement? We can help.
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