Consumers want UK retailers to replicate best-in-class domestic delivery experiences across borders. One in two will abandon shopping carts if duties are not calculated accurately and presented at checkout

LONDON, UK - Pitney Bowes Inc., a global shipping and mailing company that provides technology, logistics and financial services, today released new findings from its latest BOXpoll survey highlighting the opportunity for British retailers with young US online shoppers. The survey of 1,254 US cross-border online shoppers finds one in four (25%) Generation Z consumers and more than one in five (22%) Millennials1 buy from UK online retailers once a month or more.

The findings are announced as Pitney Bowes expands its portfolio of leading cross-border services, launching new UK-origin cross-border logistics services purpose-built to help UK retailers grow sales and reach consumers throughout Europe, in the US, and around the world.

“Younger US consumers and their love of British brands present a fantastic opportunity for UK-based retailers, but these buyers are cost-conscious and experienced, with high service expectations,” said Georges Berzgal, Senior Vice President International - Pitney Bowes Global Ecommerce. “To win their business, sellers must replicate a best-in-class domestic ecommerce experience across borders, including fully-landed costs, reliable delivery time estimates, and accurate tracking. New Designed Cross-Border™ services from Pitney Bowes will make ecommerce logistics easier for UK retailers, helping them reduce complexity and risk while delivering an outstanding customer experience.”

The BOXpoll survey reveals insights into the barriers US shoppers face at checkout when buying from UK brands. Buyers show higher expectations and lower tolerance around the cost of shipping and returns, compared with last summer’s poll:

• 59% abandon their shopping cart because they do not want to pay the costs associated with returning items, up from 50% in 2021
• 74% of buyers are held back by high shipping costs – up from 69% last year
• Almost one in every two (47%) abandons their cart if duties are either not calculated or seem inaccurate, up from 44% in 2021

The results highlight the delivery times that US cross-border consumers find acceptable when buying a product online from a UK ecommerce site. The majority find seven days acceptable, with 44% saying they would still be happy with ten-day delivery. They are less tolerant after the ten-day mark, with 63% classifying 11-14 days as slow. The key is to set expectation on delivery times upfront at the checkout and then to meet those expectations.

Pitney Bowes forecasts reveal one in every five ecommerce transactions around the world is likely to be cross-border in the next four years, with global cross-border sales expected to reach $1.6 trillion by 20252.

1 Generation Z is classified with birth dates between 1992 and 2012. Millennials are classified as those born between 1981 and 1996.
2 Pitney Bowes Market Research forecasts

Methodology
BOXpoll by Pitney Bowes, part of the BOXtools insights platform, is a weekly survey on current events, culture and ecommerce logistics. Morning Consult conducts weekly consumer polls on behalf of Pitney Bowes among a national sample of more than 2,000 online shoppers. The survey cited was conducted on May 1, 2022 among a national sample of approximately 2,200 US cross-border online shoppers. The comparative survey from 2021 was conducted from July 30th – August 3rd 2021, among a national sample of approximately 2,200 US cross-border online shoppers. Visit www.pitneybowes.com/boxpoll for the latest BOXpoll findings.