LOGISTICS
Asian online consumers expect free
shipping, will shop globally for better
options via smartphones
AS more shoppers in Asia buy online,
their rising expectations amidst a
competitive retailer landscape is driving
increased demand for free shipping,
expedited deliveries and customer-
centric return policies to be offered as
the standard, according to the UPS Pulse
of the Online Shopper study.
Now in its sixth year, the research
commissioned by package delivery
company UPS revealed enduring
constants as well as emerging trends that
are changing consumer behaviour and
preferences across China, Hong Kong
and Japan, as well as the US, Canada,
Mexico, Europe and Brazil. The results
have been categorised into three areas —
Constants, Movers and Emergers.
“Analysing the mindsets and
motivations of thousands of shoppers
around the world reveals that, far from
being a sunk cost, clever shipping and
returns solutions are actually an area
where retailers can win and retain
customers, drive repeat patronage,
and encourage shoppers to add more
items to their carts — both online and
in-store,” said Sylvie Van den Kerkhof,
vice-president of Marketing, UPS Asia-
Pacific.
CONSTANTS: Asia online shoppers
remain dissatisfied and continue to seek
free, fast shipping and returns.
Only 57% of shoppers in Asia
are satisfied with the online shopping
experience, the lowest percentage
compared to other regions surveyed and
an improvement of only 11percentage
points since 2015 (when it was 46%),
demonstrating the slow pace of change
in addressing customer satisfaction.
Other areas of the retail experience
that remain important and influence
purchase behaviour include the
importance of free, fast shipping, as
well as free and easy return policies.
Asian online shoppers said they enjoyed
free shipping, on average, for 85% of
their orders, illustrating the competitive
advantage that free shipping gives to
retailers that offer it.
Unsurprisingly, nearly two-thirds
of respondents in Asia indicated that
free shipping is an important factor
in the checkout process, with 46% of
shoppers adding items to their cart
to qualify for it. About half of Asian
online shoppers have abandoned a cart
due to no delivery date being given or
delivery time being too long, with the
According to the study, ship-to-store is growing in popularity (with 37% of shoppers using it
in the past year and 59% of those planning to use it even more this year).
18
Retail Asia May 2018
average delivery wait leading to cart
abandonment being 11 days.
Meanwhile, a convenient and
transparent return policy increases sales
and customer satisfaction, with 67%
of shoppers in Asia indicating that free
shipping on returns is important when
selecting online retailers. UPS said this
is an area where retailers in Asia must
do more to improve their service as
only 47% of shoppers are satisfied with
the ease of making returns, even though
only four in 10 have actually returned
an online purchase in the past year.
Furthermore, 79% of shoppers returned
only 10% or less of their orders. Among
these, 69% made new purchases when
returning an online order in-store and
67% bought new items when returning
online, demonstrating a strong business
case for offering a fuss-free return
service.
MOVERS: In recent years, consumers
in Asia have become increasingly
comfortable with shopping on
smartphones, selecting ship-to-store
and buying from international retailers
and small businesses.
The usage of smartphones has
become even more prevalent amongst
shoppers in Asia, with smartphone
purchases becoming the norm as 77%
of shoppers have placed orders on
their phones (the highest percentage
globally), up from 55% in 2015.
By way of comparison, only 48% of
American smartphone users made
online purchases on their device.
Ship-to-store is growing in
popularity (with 37% of shoppers using
it in the past year and 59% of those
planning to use it even more this year),
according to the study. Notably, it can
be a lucrative offering for retailers,
as 60% of Asian shoppers who used
ship-to-store in the past year made
additional purchases while in-store. The
percentage is even higher in China at
74%.
“One revealing finding is that Asia’s
online shoppers are now buying from