The United States is no longer the most popular destination for mobile cross-border shopping. Its thunder has been stolen by China, a new report has found.
According to the third annual cross-border commerce report by PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), 21 percent of all online shoppers claimed to have shopped cross border from Chinese websites in the past 12 months.
China is followed by the U.S. (17 percent) and U.K. (13 percent).
Cross-Border Shopping on the Rise
A key highlight of the report is the increase in U.S. cross-border shopping. In exact numbers, cross-border shopping grew a substantial 9 percent to 31 percent from 2015 figures.
It’s also worth noting that of those Americans who shopped cross-border, 26 percent spent more than half of their online spend on cross-border purchases.
“Selling internationally is a substantial opportunity for merchants around the globe to grow their business. At PayPal, we’ve seen our cross-border volume grow 38 percent in the last two years – from $14 billion a quarter in Q3 2014 to $19 billion a quarter in Q3 2016,” said Melissa O’Malley, Director, Global Initiatives at PayPal.
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On the other side of the Atlantic, U.K. recorded only a slight drop in cross-border shopping despite Brexit. The U.S. is the largest beneficiary, with an estimated $2.2 billion in cross-border shopping spent in America by British shoppers.
Why Customers are Shopping Cross-Border
The report shows better prices (76 percent) is the top reason why global consumers are shopping cross border today.
A large number of shoppers (65 percent) cite gaining access to items not available in their own country as the reason for making international purchases.
For the study, Ipsos, on behalf of PayPal, interviewed consumers who use an internet-enabled device in 32 countries.
Shanghai Photo via Shutterstock
