Our previous blog, “Cross-Border eCommerce – The Key to International Growth,” mentions that e-commerce is continuously growing. According to Statista, online sales in 2021 were $4.9 trillion and are expected to rise to $7.3 trillion.
The cross-border e-commerce market value in 2019 was about $579 billion and is expected to reach $2.25 trillion by 2026. Cross-border e-commerce involves buying and selling products in online stores across international borders.
The following map shows the countries with the most significant percentage of shoppers buying from international online stores.
As we can see in the image, these are some countries where US fashion brands can expand internationally. Taking this premise into account, the five most important countries with the highest percentage of cross-border shoppers are; Brazil at 86%, Australia at 85%, Canada at 83%, France at 79% and Germany at 74%.
In 2020, the countries that purchased the most from US brands through e-commerce were: Canada at 51%, Mexico at 50%, South Korea at 47% and India at 28%.
The main reasons for consumers to purchase through cross-border e-commerce are:
- Lower prices
- Brands not available in their home countries
- Unique and more expansive product options
Where does Fashion stand in the e-commerce market?
The global Fashion C-commerce Market was valued at nearly 700 billion US dollars in 2021. In 2022, it is expected to be one of the three most important categories of global e-commerce sales, with a revenue forecast of $1 trillion. This category has grown continuously and become more popular in online sales. Global fashion e-commerce is expected to reach more than $1.2 trillion by 2025.
The International Post Corporation’s online survey, conducted in 2021 in 40 countries with 33,179 participants, found that the top categories in cross-border e-commerce were clothing, footwear and apparel, with 34% of respondents.
As can be seen, fashion products have a high demand worldwide, leaving plenty of room for brands interested in fulfilling the needs and wishes of consumers in other countries to do so successfully.
Which countries have a higher potential for US fashion brands to expand?
At this point, you might ask yourself what the best countries for your US fashion brand are to expand and increase your international sales. Here you will find a list of the countries with the highest online fashion sales.
Looking at the graph below at the revenue of fashion retail e-commerce by country, we can get an idea of the top 10 countries where the fashion category in e-commerce has a higher penetration and thus higher revenue.
1. China
- Internet penetration in 2020: 70%
- E-commerce sales in 2021: $2.78 trillion
- Fashion e-commerce sales forecast 2022: $312.2 billion
- Percentage of cross-border shoppers: 65%
2. The UK
- Internet penetration in 2020: 95%
- E-commerce sales in 2021: $1.69 billion
- Fashion e-commerce sales forecast 2022: $60.56 billion
- Percentage of cross-border shoppers: 66%
3. Japan
- Internet penetration in 2020: 90%
- E-commerce sales in 2021: $144 billion
- Fashion e-commerce sales forecast 2022: $54.39 billion
- Percentage of cross-border shoppers: 36%
4. Germany
- Internet penetration in 2020: 90%
- E-commerce sales in 2021: $101.5 billion
- Fashion e-commerce sales forecast 2022: $38.47 billion
- Percentage of cross-border shoppers: 74%
5. South Korea
- Internet penetration in 2020: 97%
- E-commerce sales in 2021: $120.56 billion
- Fashion e-commerce sales forecast 2022: 37.18 billion
- Percentage of cross-border shoppers: 41%
6. France
- Internet penetration in 2020: 85%
- E-commerce sales in 2021: $80 billion
- Fashion e-commerce sales forecast 2022: 32.96 billion
- Percentage of cross-border shoppers: 79%
7. India
- Internet penetration in 2020: 43%
- E-commerce sales in 2021: $67.5 billion
- Fashion e-commerce sales forecast 2022: 19.69 billion
- Percentage of cross-border shoppers: 56%
8. Italy
- Internet penetration in 2020: 70%
- E-commerce sales in 2021: $26 billion
- Fashion e-commerce sales forecast 2022: $19.43 billion
- Percentage of cross-border shoppers: 67%
9. Canada
- Internet penetration in 2020: 97%
- E-commerce sales in 2021: $44 billion
- Fashion e-commerce sales forecast 2022: $16.53 billion
- Percentage of cross-border shoppers: 83%
10. Australia
- Internet penetration in 2020: 90%
- E-commerce sales in 2021: $31 billion
- Fashion e-commerce sales forecast 2022: $11.12 billion
- Percentage of cross-border shoppers: 83%
These countries could be an excellent choice for US fashion brands to expand their international footprint. As shown, they not only have the highest percentage of consumers willing to buy from foreign brands through e-commerce but also the highest fashion e-commerce sales. These offer US brands high opportunities to penetrate the international market successfully.
What do you need to consider before expanding into a new country?
Marketing elements
- Identify your ideal international customer: Your brand needs to create a target persona that means your ideal international customer. In this way, you can find the most effective way to present and sell your products and have a higher chance of success in the market or markets you want to expand.
- Connect with influencers: This marketing tactic has become popular in recent years, allowing brands to become more natural and build trust. It is also a way to connect deeper with consumers. Finding influencers with followers like your ideal customer could give you a higher chance of starting on the right foot and attracting their attention.
- Engage with your Audience: Research popular social media networks within your target audience and try different engagement activities to find out what gives you positive results—for example, answering messages on time, giveaways and polls. This will help you to increase brand awareness, trust and sales.
- Retarget visitors: It is a good marketing practice to have campaigns to retarget visitors who have left products on the shopping cart or have products on their favorite list. For example, show ads or send e-mails with discounts on the products they were interested in. Retargeting helps increase turnover and generate a great return on investment (ROI).
Logistics and payment
- Payment options: Be aware of your target market’s most common payment options. For example, paying with Apple Pay, Google Wallet, or bank transfer is very common in Europe. Therefore, it is a matter of finding out what your visitors use for online payments and offering them.
- Customer service: Customer satisfaction is the key to happiness, loyalty and returning customers. Barriers to language, culture and time zones can be challenging to provide an excellent buying experience. However, allocating staff to support clients in other countries helps businesses avoid misunderstandings and be more efficient.
Delivery experience:
- Shipping cost: One of the concerns of shoppers buying from international brands is the high shipping costs. So, what you can do as a brand is finding the most cost-effective solution to offer your customers. This will help your customers continue their checkout and improve their shopping and shipping experience. With BorderGuru, you can offer the most competitive shipping costs and a smooth checkout experience.
- Delivery time: This is also a concern and the best thing to do is to be transparent with your customers about delivery times and situations where deliveries can be delayed. Next, you need a solution that provides your customers with reliable shipping updates until they receive their package. BorderGuru offers end-to-end track and trace that allows your customers to feel safe, as they will know every shipment stage until it gets delivered.
- Return policy: Research and understand the return rate and legislation of the country or countries the business is selling to. Make sure to have a straightforward process and policies to handle returns and communicate them to customers.
- Customs, Taxes and duties: It is vital for companies to have information on customs, taxes, and duties and check how they will be handled and communicated to customers. For example, it might be easier and more transparent for customers to see a price with tax and pay duties upfront along with shipping. This way, customers do not have to worry about further costs once their package arrives, as it will be customs cleared.
If your brand is ready to take the next step towards international expansion, consider us your global partner. BorderGuru will provide full support by offering you and your customers the best shipping experience, from competitive shipping costs to calculating taxes and duties at checkout to custom-made orders so that your customers do not have to worry about surprises at delivery.
With BorderGuru, you have the opportunity to ship to up to 200 countries without any hurdles.
Contact us now and discover the endless possibilities the international market offers!