We strive to offer best-in-class commerce experiences. PayPal’s business is to power convenient, reliable and secure payments for both consumers and merchants.
To help our merchants better reach customers in key export markets, we’re releasing new cross-border research insights.
The research, conducted in partnership with Ipsos, surveyed more than 1,200 merchants in six major markets (U.S., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK) to understand their cross-border business and sales strategies. When
compared with
what we learned from consumers, we’ve uncovered important gaps between merchant strategies and consumer behavior.
Key Findings for U.S.-Based Merchants
Cross-Border is Big Business: GlobalSales Can Drive 2x Revenue vs. Domestic-Only
U.S. business owners surveyed reported that they nearly double sales revenue when they sold beyond U.S. borders, compared to peers who only targeted domestic buyers. This aligns with findings that consumers who shop internationally spend approximately twice as much as those who don’t.
For New Sales, Look North and South: Canada’s Huge and Brazil’s a Burgeoning Market
Of international shoppers buying from the U.S. merchants surveyed, the most active markets are Canada (contributing 41 percent of international online revenue), the UK (eight percent), and Brazil (five percent) – with 26 percent of Brazilian cross-border shoppers expecting their overall international spend to increase over the next year.
Language Barriers: Portuguese Localization Could Boost Sales
Fifty-seven percent of Brazilian online shoppers surveyed aren’t comfortable buying from sites not in their local language, yet none of the U.S. merchants surveyed offer Portuguese, the official language of Brazil. In fact, only 19 percent of U.S. merchants surveyed translate their site copy from English. Given Brazil’s current (and growing) buying power, Portuguese localization could be a wise investment.
Currency Conversion: Selling in Multiple Currencies May Increase Sales Success
Being able to shop in their own currency is important to consumers. In Canada, Brazil and the UK, 30-42 percent of online shoppers surveyed say that being able to see their costs or make a payment in their own currency would make them more likely to buy from a foreign site.
Currently, less than half of U.S. cross-border merchants surveyed list in foreign currencies on their sites. In the future, 26 percent of the U.S. cross-border sellers surveyed say they plan to offer more currency choices– though none report plans to offer the Brazilian Real.
As a leading global payments processor, PayPal is dedicated to driving a seamless exchange between consumers and businesses. Providing merchants with current data and resources for best business practices is an important part of facilitating those connections. We encourage merchants to explore our additional research and tools such as
PayPal PassPort and our comprehensive eBooks “
How to Sell Internationally” and “
Selling Into China” to help attract new businesses overseas.
Read the full reports: