Top Cross-Border eCommerce Stores

One of the biggest advantages of the internet in general, and eCommerce in particular, is that it knows almost no national borders. Consumers nowadays have access to a variety of products and distributors which is greater than ever, thanks to international eCommerce. Smaller countries which share language and cultural background with a strong economy next door – like Austria or Belgium – have tendentially higher cross-border eCommerce shares. In the strong western economies France, Germany, and the UK, consumers mainly search for cheaper prices or a more diverse product selection when they turn to online stores based outside their home countries. But on a global scale, which are the actual eCommerce players which are mostly addressed by cross-border shoppers? A recent survey conducted by the International Post Corporation identified the top destinations:

In their Cross-Border E-Commerce Shopper Survey 2021, conducted among more than 33,000 online shoppers from 40 countries across the globe, IPC helped paint a clearer picture of the international cross-border eCommerce customer. In their global overview, China was the most attractive country for cross-border shoppers: 35% of respondents across the 40 countries made their last cross-border purchase from a provider based in China. The U.S. follows at quite a distance with 14%. Still – the world’s top address for cross-border online shoppers is U.S. eCommerce giant Amazon. 26% of respondents interviewed by IPC stated that they made their last cross-border purchase from Amazon. Amazon was most popular among cross-border shoppers from Luxembourg, Austria, and India – more than half of respondents in these countries named Amazon as the address of their most recent cross-border purchase. The second most popular destination for global cross-border online shoppers is Alibaba / AliExpress: 19% of cross-border purchases were made from the Chinese tech giant’s online stores. Alibaba is an outstandingly popular shopping destination for online shoppers in Russia: 74% of Russian eCommerce customers made their last cross-border purchase from Alibaba. Rank 3 in the list of the most popular online stores for cross-border eCommerce is taken by eBay with a share of 10%, Wish is in rank 4 with 7%. Both Wish and Ebay lost shares compared to the IPC 2019 report, while Amazon extended their lead in several countries. Even though cross-border purchases have become a popular across the globe, with some countries registering substantial cross-border shares in their total eCommerce revenues, there is still a trend towards more domestic eCommerce, according to the IPC survey: 27% of respondents stated that they intended to buy much more from domestic e-retailers in the future.