Summer 2008

Although a third of consumers in 14 European countries say they would be willing to buy products online from retailers based abroad, only 8 per cent of the UK's top retailers accept orders from outside the UK. The three top reasons emerging for this reticence are language barriers, VAT and currency issues, and lack of a viable delivery option.

These are among findings of a report by B2Advantage, an e-retail consultancy set up by Chris Pearce-Ramwell, formerly a practitioner in the business himself.

For the report, the consultancy asked carriers why they dislike international home deliveries. Their top four reasons were incorrect address data, a high incidence of 'not at home' carded deliveries, the dominance of postal operators in foreign markets, and poor track and trace solutions.

Consumers for their part were uneasy about security of payment, credibility of information on foreign web sites, and delivery issues.

 

Looking beyond the top hundred retailers, the survey found that overall, 71 per cent of UK retailers have embraced the concept of European deliveries, but 54 per cent could not confirm a delivery price prior to checkout. When they did indicate prices, these tended to band around £10, £15 and £20.

By far the most frequently cited countries where UK retailers would delivery were France and Germany.