New research recently conducted by PayPal suggests that buying British is becoming an international obsession. According to the survey of 17,500 adults across 22 markets, the UK is the third most popular destination for online shoppers globally. The most popular territory for online shoppers is the US, followed by China.
China also seems to be fuelling much of the international transactions with the most popular items being clothing and beauty products. 45% of Chinese consumers have bought clothing, footwear or accessories from an international shop in the last 12 months. 38% have bought cosmetics or beauty products, and 31pc have purchased consumer electronics, including mobile phones, computers and tablets from international sellers.
It would seem sound advice for more UK firms, especially those in the fashion and beauty industries, to take advantage of China’s buying power.
Salutations from Canada. I can’t speak for others, but I tend to purchase knitted goods (hats, fingerless gloves & socks etc) from UK crafters because I’ve found them to be second to none.
I also purchase a LOT of books (calendars, stationary, maps) from UK sellers because I can find the titles/design I want (by UK writers/publishers) without having to wrestle with the maddeningly Byzantine system of distribution in my country which makes me wait a year then tells me it’s gone out of print.
Enjoy your blog. Keep up the great work!
It is great to get an international view of the situation here in the UK. Thanks for your comment. If you are ever looking for UK made socks again I can recommend Sockmine and Marko Johns. The latter would be fantastic for the Canadian winter!
Actually Chinese shoppers choose to buy from international sellers because they can’t trust that the Chinese shops are not stocking fakes. They are still looking for high value international Big Brands such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, Channel and Cosmetics from Estee Lauder, Lancome… I would guess that American/British websites are popular simply because they can either understand English or the online translation is better. Not as good a story as it seems…
Liz.
May I substitute the words “high value” in your post with “high cost”.
I wouldn’t give you tuppence for the overpriced manufacturers you mention.
hehe yes, my error sorry 🙂
Hey Liz. No need to be so negative! Seriously I do think (and I have a little experience in this) that oversease buyers and especially the Chinese really value the high quality goods we produce.
Hi Mike, sorry yes you are right they do appreciate quality, but generally Chinese shoppers are very brand sensitive (lived there for 6 years…. got a little jaded 😉