Member Article

Research highlights difference in ‘foreign’ attitudes to online goods delivery

Retailers and delivery companies will need to work together to overcome some of the considerable barriers that are stopping many people from buying from ‘foreign’ websites, according to the latest research from Leeds-based consumer delivery specialist Hermes.

Failure to do so will mean potentially missing out on lucrative markets where online shopping is either still relatively new or uptake is low.

These are the findings of the fourth annual industry research from Hermes, which for the first time included 1,000 responses from consumers in both Russia and Germany, in addition to 1000 in the UK.

The 2013 Parcel Deliveries Usage and Attitude Survey found that there were strong differences in consumer attitudes across the three countries with regard to parcel delivery, security and payment that had a negative impact on their online buying habits.

As a result the numbers of consumers prepared to buy regularly online from whom they perceived to be a foreign retailer were extremely low – just 2% in Germany and 9% in the UK. The figure was higher in Russia at 24%.

Over 50% of all respondents were put off by high delivery charges and the difficulty of returning faulty or unwanted deliveries.

There were also high levels of concern around potential credit card fraud, whether the goods would actually arrive and how long delivery would take. Over a third felt that sorting out any issues or problems would be too difficult.

There were also strong differences around payment methods with many respondents in Germany being used to receiving an invoice after receipt of their purchase and over a third of all Russian respondents used to paying cash on delivery. PayPal was relatively popular in all three countries.

Gary Winter, sales and marketing director at Hermes UK, said: “The research shows that there are phenomenal growth opportunities for retailers and delivery companies overseas but they need to work together to get it right.

“Certainly one size does not fit all and meeting the vastly different consumers’ requirements on all aspects of the service is key.”

The survey also found that the UK has the highest number of frequent online shoppers (those that had purchased three or more times In the past three months) at 26% equating to around 12 million people and Germany was next with 11% equating to around seven million people.

In Russia less than only 1% of the population frequently shops online, although it is worth noting that this equates to nearly 1.5 million people.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mark Lane .