UK brands must think omnichannel when targeting key global shoppers - ESW report

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 4, 2024

A new survey in a regular series from cross-border e-commerce specialist ESW shows that international shoppers with the greatest spending power also index the highest when it comes to demand for omnichannel experiences.

The company surveyed over 18,000 worldwide shoppers and also said international markets that are leading demand for UK brands have the highest global concentration of omnichannel shoppers.

It believes the report highlights the need for British brands and retailers “to implement unified commerce infrastructures to better meet the needs of cross-border shoppers”.

Looking specifically at the top cross-border markets purchasing from the UK, the UAE is in number one spot (36%) and 65% of those consumers are omnichannel shoppers.

Behind them is Australia (28%) with 57% of those being omnichannel shoppers. In equal third place are India and South Africa (both 26%) with 65% of their consumers shopping omnichannel.

We’re told that such shoppers make more purchases and spend 15% more a year than those consumers who buy through a single channel.  And of the global consumers spending between $3,500 to $4,999 a year online, 66% are omnichannel shoppers.

“As international consumers move seamlessly from one sales medium to another, successful brands and retailers need to move with them to meet and exceed their expectations at every step,” said ESW’s Chief Revenue Officer Martim Avillez Oliveira.

Generationally, younger consumers are more likely to make omnichannel purchases, with Millennials leading the way. Of that group, 58% use multiple channels in their shopping journeys compared to 53% of their younger Gen Z counterparts, while 51% of Gen X and 46% of Baby Boomers opt for omnichannel.  Millennials are also the demographic driving global omnichannel growth, rising 22% year on year, followed by Gen X (+13%).

ESW said international shoppers were most likely to shop across multiple channels when purchasing consumer electronics (60%), followed by cosmetics (58%), hobbies, toys and games (58%), footwear (56%), clothing (55%) and luxury (49%).  

Each of the product categories saw a double-digit increase over last year with luxury (+36%) seeing the largest gains. Cosmetics (+26%), footwear (+22%) and apparel (+19%) also rose healthily. It's particularly interesting that luxury and fashion in general have seen such rises given the challenges the categories have faced in the past year.