IPC: Online purchases from China are on the rise again, driven primarily by Temu
The 2024 edition of the IPC Cross-Border E-Commerce Shopper Survey released today provides a comprehensive overview of online cross-border consumers’ experiences, preferences and expectations. The survey was conducted with 31,000 participants from 37 countries across America, Europe, Asia and Oceania.
IPC’s CEO, Holger Winklbauer said: “The 2024 Cross-Border E-commerce Shopper Survey shows that the majority of consumers buy online as much or more than the year before. The survey also shows that the e-commerce stakeholders have addressed consumer demand for faster and more affordable delivery options.”
Online sales from China are increasing again
China’s share increased by 7pp in 2023 and a further 3pp in 2024, after a few years of decline. The increase in purchases from China was primarily driven by the two e-retailers – Temu and Shein.
Germany’s exports saw its share decrease by 2pp and the US and the UK saw a 1pp decrease in 2024, while France maintained its level.
Temu overtakes AliExpress as second most used e-retailer for cross-border sales
Amazon remains the primary e-retailer for cross-border online consumers with a share of 24%, which remains stable compared to 2023. Temu jumped to second place (21%, compared to only 7% in 2023) and AliExpress fell to third place (10% compared to 16% in 2023). Shein followed with 9% share (same as in 2023).
Free delivery grows in importance for international shoppers
Free delivery is more common than it was in 2023. It is highly valued when shopping online and, in many markets, has gained in importance. Moreover, more consumers seem inclined to opt for cheaper delivery options such as Click & Collect or Pick up in Store. Furthermore, almost two in three shoppers agreed they would be changing their spending to cheaper goods online.
Proportion of parcels taking more than 15 days to be delivered decreased sharply
When asked how long the purchase took to arrive – from the moment of purchase until the day of the parcel’s arrival – 10% of respondents said that the item took 15 or more days (vs. 17% of participants in 2023). Delivery was usually fastest for consumers in countries who mainly buy from neighbouring countries, while delivery was slowest for those primarily buying from more distant markets. When analysing the trend results, the proportion of parcels taking more than 15 days decreased sharply from 29% in 2020 to 9% in 2024, despite the increase in cross-border volume from China. Furthermore, only 10% of surveyed consumers paid an extra fee for express delivery.
Delivery location receive the highest satisfaction rating among online shoppers
Satisfaction was highest for delivery location (42% extremely satisfied, 94% overall satisfied) and lowest for customs (19% extremely satisfied, 74% overall satisfied). For those who used an out-of-home point for delivery, satisfaction with delivery was clearly correlated with distance travelled to the location. More than half of those who travelled up to 100m were extremely satisfied with their delivery location compared to only 22% for those whose out-of-home delivery point was located more than 1km away. Postal operators with their dense networks of delivery points are therefore ideally placed to serve the demands of international online shoppers.
To download the key findings from the research, go to http://www.ipc.be/shopper
