UNDERSTANDING BUYING HABITS OF US SHOPPERS

As our world continues to become a much smaller place, the ability to buy goods online from other countries is on the rise.

One valuable target group for UK online retailers are US customers shopping on their sites.

Weve used our own data to explore the shopping behaviour of this particular customer group to help UK ecommerce companies maximise the revenue opportunity these shoppers bring.

Our data has shown that despite US customers on UK sites only making up 4% of total visits, they are extremely valuable;spending up to 3.88 times more than the average UK customer.

To put that into revenue terms, that equates to a market size of around 11bn per annum based on current stats.

However, the challenge with this group is that whilst they make up 4.12% of total traffic they only make up 0.68% of conversions. Obvious reasons for this could include no onsite functionality to display the price in dollars or perhaps restrictions on international shipping.

Given the time zone difference, US online shopping peaks at 3:00am on UK websites, compared to 6.00pm for UK customers. Also, whilst UK shoppers peak on a Sunday, Friday seems to be the big spending day for the US.

Geographically, they are a homogenous group too, with the top 10 visitor locations being dominated by New York and San Francisco in particular.

In order to take advantage of this lucrative customer base, UK online retailers need to ensure that their websites are set-up accordingly.

Here are six tips for maximising conversion rates with US shoppers...

Did you know that 80% of visitors to your website will never come back? Its therefore important to engage potential customers as soon as they land on the page or youll risk losing them forever.

US consumers will need a completely different experience to UK consumers so its important that relevant information about the brand and products suitable for that market are highlighted upfront.

Fulfilment can be one of the main reasons for consumers not converting. To combat this, make sure delivery times are clearly visible in order to manage customer expectations.

If you have a compelling delivery option such as free delivery if you spend over 50 or you offer free returns make sure potential customers are aware.

US customers love the idea of quintessential Britain so play on our heritage by encouraging people to engage with content that talks about how and where the products were made.

Its also important to capitalize on Britains national events when customers will be keen to pick up some once-in-a-lifetime memorabilia. For example, the Royal family or the Olympics.

Its important to combine online and offline content in order to create a succinct multi-channel experience.

If you have physical stores in certain US cities then encourage your online US customers to come and visit you in store by using city level targeting.

Customers are creatures of habit and may struggle to navigate a new site if the layout and functionality is not familiar. If customer feedback indicates that users are struggling deploy navigational sign-posts to help them find the products and services theyre looking for.

For example, Farfetch ensures that filters are market specific and offer their US and UK customers a chance to search for the right size according to the metrics theyre used to.

Lastly, dont give people an excuse to leave. No matter how personalized and engaging you make your site between 60-80% of visitors still drop off at the checkout so you need to find innovative ways to re-engage them before they leave.