54% of global consumers expect to increase their cross-border purchasing over the next six to twelve months. However, they need flexibility and transparency in the digital payment experience to make that happen.
Kai Wu, Chief Revenue Officer at Airwallex, said: “E-commerce is more global than ever. Despite ongoing economic uncertainty and slowing global growth, it is clear that consumer spending will continue to grow. With the global cross-border e-commerce market set to reach $7.9trn by 2030, it is critical for international merchants to solve consumer pain points and deliver the best possible customer experience in order to thrive in this competitive market.”
A report released by payments and financial platform Airwallex is designed to understand the state of cross-border e-commerce, uncovering the challenges consumers and merchants face as they carry out cross-border e-commerce payment transactions.
Key findings of the report
Trust in personal data security and international merchants is helping drive increased cross-border spend. 61% of consumers perceive international merchants to be trustworthy, while 65% expressed confidence in the security of their personal and financial information when buying from international merchants.
While Globally, the US (36%) and China (25%) stood out as the top regions for consumers’ international shopping. 72% of consumers from China ranked the US and Canada as the top region for their international shopping, whereas China was the top country that consumers from the US (41%) Singapore (35%), and the UK (35%) shopped internationally from.
When shopping with international merchants, 77% of survey consumers would likely abandon their cart if their preferred payment method is not available. Additionally, 54% are unlikely to return to online stores that do not transparently disclose additional fees like currency conversion and international transaction fees.
Credit cards were ranked as the most frequently used payment method among consumers shopping online from international merchants, followed by global digital wallets (26%).