Consumers buying Christmas gifts overseas is on the rise around the world, but Brits are favouring home-grown brands
The latest research into holiday season shopping has revealed that Brits are increasingly buying from home-grown brands – in stark contrast to continental Europe and North America. The research, from CJ Affiliate’s Holiday Intelligence Report, identified how Christmas seasons in recent years have seen cross-border shopping volumes peak around the world, except for in Britain.
The volume of UK cross-border retail sales over the holiday period decreased from 20% in 2016 to 17% of overall sales in 2017, resulting in the UK being ranked 25th out of the 80 top markets for the volume of retail sales completed on non-native sites.
“Clearly, more flexible payment and shipping options are helping encourage more Christmas shoppers to buy their presents from overseas retailers, but British brands are the preference for UK shoppers, with retailers such as Argos being revealed as particularly popular,” commented CJ Affiliate’s Head of Strategy, Owen Hancock. “It seems Brits want to support local businesses, while also having a greater aversion towards international shipping fees, even with the introduction of the likes of free shipping day.”
The research revealed that Canadian shoppers are the happiest to set their sights beyond their geographic border for purchasing the perfect Christmas gift. For two years running (2016 and 2017), Canada has topped the rankings as the country with the greatest volume of cross-border retail holiday sales. France and Germany, meanwhile, both featured among the top ten countries for consumers shopping overseas in 2017, claiming the fifth and sixth spots.
“Though there’s been a rise in cross-border sales, marketers and brands still need to be offering a localised experience to entice shoppers, particularly Brits. For those aiming to reach foreign markets, a proficient partner with a high-quality affiliate marketing network will play a major role in achieving this and help convert both local and overseas shoppers this Christmas,” concluded Hancock.