Global Ecommerce Consumer Survey Compares Shopping Habits, Fraud Worries, Customer Experience Expectations

Sapio Research study conducted by ClearSale shows which consumers are most comfortable with cross-border shopping, most worried about online fraud, and most likely to abandon a merchant after a false decline

International fraud protection leader ClearSale is pleased to release an extensive analysis of its five-country study on consumer attitudes commissioned from Sapio Research titled, 2021 Global Ecommerce Consumer Behavior Analysis. The analysis shows merchants how online shoppers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Mexico and Australia decide which ecommerce stores to buy from and which to avoid.

“With so much growth in online shopping worldwide this year, we want to help merchants understand customer attitudes so they can meet the expectations of their ideal customers, whether those are American Baby Boomers, Mexican millennials or Gen Z Australians,” said Rafael Lourenco, ClearSale Executive Vice President.

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The study was conducted in early March 2020 and surveyed more than 1,000 frequent online shoppers in each country. The survey asked shoppers for their opinions about online security and data privacy, their concerns about online fraud and where they prefer to shop, among other topics.

Among the survey findings, 52% of all consumers order from overseas merchants as well as in-country retailers and 50% are most likely to shop on a phone or tablet. “These numbers show that merchants that don’t accept cross-border orders and provide a good mobile experience are missing out on half of their potential customers,” Lourenco said.

The survey also found that consumers worry about fraud but don’t have patience with merchants who reject their orders by mistake.

• 78% of all consumers say they feel as safe or safer shopping online than in stores, even though 42% have been victims of online fraud.
• 39% of all consumers say they’ll never shop again with a merchant that declines their order.

“Here we see the importance of letting customers know that your store has fraud protection, as well as the need to avoid false declines that drive customers away and reduce average customer lifetime value,” Lourenco said.

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The survey also found differences in consumer behavior between countries. For example:

• 72% of Mexican online shoppers and 60% of Australian online shoppers order from both overseas and in-country merchants, compared to only 37% of U.S. and U.K. shoppers.
• 64% of Mexican shoppers read merchant reviews before making an online purchase, but only 34% of U.K. shoppers do.
• Australian and U.S. shoppers are the most likely to abandon a purchase if asked to create a customer account.

“Any merchant who wants to understand their customers’ behavior can use this information to improve their customer experience and reach cross-border customers more effectively,” Lourenco said.

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