World’s largest e-commerce markets to double in size by 2018, says report
The world’s largest ecommerce markets – the US, China, the UK and Germany – are expected to double in size by 2018, according to a new study from OC&C Strategy Consultants, PayPal and Google. The study, Cracking the World’s Largest ecommerce Markets, predicts that the scale of these markets will rise to £645 billion.
According to OC&C, the research not only identified the pull factors for shopping overseas, but also the biggest barriers. For customers who already shop cross-border, data security, trust in the retailer and ease of returns are particularly important.
The smartphone is seen as a vital element of this e-commerce growth.
Martijn Bertisen, Sales Director at Google UK said: “The number of people with internet access is growing fast, with many new consumers skipping the desktop phase entirely and only experiencing the web through a smartphone. Our study shows that this is increasingly translating into mobile transactions and that a mobile-first or even mobile-only strategy is now imperative to international success in retail.”
The findings from the report will be presented at the British Retail Consortium’s Annual International Conference on Thursday (11th June).
