Pitney Bowes Survey Identifies Online Shopping Trends in Europe
and the U.S.
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 25, 2012--
Just in time to kick off the holiday shopping season, a new report from
Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) with 4,000 consumers surveyed in France,
Germany, the UK and the US indicates which products Old St. Nick is
likely to purchase most frequently online. Books, clothes, magazines,
shoes and electronics hold the top five slots globally. Health
supplements, pet supplies, gardening products, Do-It-Yourself products
and crafts ranked last of the preferred items for online purchase.
Certain online shopping trends stand out in the Pitney Bowes report Consumer
Trends in Online Shopping and Shipping. Online purchase of
every type of product is on the rise over the last 12 months and books
and clothes are leading the way with a healthy 25% of respondents
reporting that they had more of these items delivered to their homes in
the past year.
According to comScore, Inc., “for the first 56 days of the
November-December 2011 holiday season, $35.3 billion was spent online –
an increase of 15% over the corresponding days in 2010, and a new
record.” The migration to digital e-commerce globally is also fueled by
mobile trends. Personal devices with branded apps are changing consumer
buying behavior dramatically.
“Consumers continue to delight in having clothes and electronics arrive
at their doorstep,” said Craig Reed, Vice President Global
E-commerce, Pitney Bowes. “Cross border e-commerce shopping and
shipping solutions are expanding retail’s reach this year. It is
critical to create a predictable seamless experience for each consumer
from the online shopping cart to the moment they open the package at
home.”
E-commerce marketers looking to capitalize on these global trends should
prepare for the season with the right technologies that meet these
consumers online or in store.
Tips for the E-commerce Holiday Season
1. For the consumer in any country, the shopping cart experience must be
seamless. E-commerce solutions now automatically calculate cross-border
fees, end to end shipping and local taxes. They also filter out products
that are prohibited from being sold in certain locales by import and
export regulations.
2. Use a multi-channel approach for holiday campaigns. Direct mail, call
centers, websites, live chat, texts, social media and email should all
be leveraging the same customer data and communicating in a similar tone.
3. Pace your communications for a two-way conversation to build customer
loyalty. Timing and acknowledging previous touch points build intimacy.
4. Make returns and customer service easy. Consumers will remember and
return.
5. Measure your cross-border success as new technology solutions
contribute to the emergence of this revenue-generating trend.
About Pitney Bowes
Delivering more than 90 years of invention, Pitney Bowes provides business
communications software, mailing
systems and services
that integrate physical and digital communications channels. Long known
for making its customers more productive, Pitney Bowes is increasingly
helping other companies grow their business through advanced customer
communications management. Pitney Bowes is a $5.3 billion company with
29,000 employees worldwide. Pitney Bowes: Every connection is a new
opportunity™. www.pb.com
Source: Pitney Bowes
For Pitney Bowes
Jessica Fuller, 203-254-1300 ext 256
jfuller@prosek.com
