Holiday shipping tends to feel like a carefully calculated risk when you know millions of other people are similarly taxing a logistics system pushed to its limit under a crush of time-sensitive deliveries. But shipping’s an even more fraught affair for cross-border shoppers left to contend with the oft unpredictable nature of sending packages from one country to another.
To hedge their bets and ensure the holidays are indeed happy, more than two-thirds (67 percent) of global shoppers are coughing up more dough to expedite their cross-border e-commerce orders, according to proprietary data from eShopWorld, a company that helps brands and retailers cater to consumers outside of their home country and counts Nike and Victoria’s Secret among its clients.
Demand for express fulfillment is even higher in countries like Italy, Poland and the U.K., where more than 85 percent have paid for faster shipping already this holiday season. According to eShopWorld, the greatest demand for international express shopping peaked over Black Friday Weekend, and has since tapered off. The most-used express carriers including CanadaPost, CAS and DPD, with DHL leading the way.
Distrust in international shipping capacity and timetables is helping to fuel consumer interest in express services, said eShopWorld president Cynthia Hollen.
“In addition, many retailers are now discounting the price of international express shipping from $25 or more to $15 or less, making the decision to speed up holiday orders even easier,” Hollen said. “Although global e-commerce sales tapered off in the days following Cyber Monday, we saw many more shoppers choose to pay for fast shipping as the week went on, as everyone wants to ensure their holiday gifts arrive in plenty of time.”
On average, global shoppers whose order values total 100 euro ($114) or higher are most likely to spring for express delivery, Hollen told Sourcing Journal, a trend that holds up when looking at orders of apparel and accessories from top U.S. brands.
Many global shoppers are rushing to get their orders in before Dec. 15, the earliest deadline that retailers have stated as the cutoff for packages to be shipped in time for Christmas. As such, the decision to select express over standard shipping began the Wednesday following Cyber Monday and continued through Dec. 2, eShopWorld noted.