The international market represents a growth market for ecommerce merchants that are seeking to increase revenues by getting more orders from outside of national borders.
As domestic markets mature, companies are expanding to international markets to acquire new customers.
You must offer alternative payments in order to capture orders from international buyers. Outside of the US, the use of credit cards for online purchases is not strong. Most global internet shoppers prefer to use local payment options to make purchases online.
North America has the biggest penetration of internet usage, with 77.4% of the population of 340 million having the ability to make purchases online. In North America, and the US in particular, bank branded debit and credit cards are the preferred method of buying online.
Electronic checks are the most popular alternative payment method for Americans. Millions of US shoppers regularly pay for goods & services with an echeck.
More than 30% of US ecommerce sites accept checks online. If you do not offer echecks at checkout, you risk losing a sale to your competitors that do.
From 2000-2010, internet penetration in Europe increased by 352%. Internet penetration in the US grew by 146%. Online merchants that ignore the European market are missing a big opportunity to increase sales
Europe, with a population of 800 million, has a 58.4% internet penetration, with over 475 million Europeans who can buy online. According to Forrester Research, 64% of Europeans have a credit card but more than half of them will not use their card to buy online.
Outside of the UK, Europeans prefer to use local bank transfers when making internet purchases. For example, in Germany, only 32% of the online shoppers use credit cards to make purchases online. This is almost 50% less than the 61% of Germans who prefer a direct debit from a bank account when buying online.
There is a greater consumer market in Europe than is in North America based on the sheer number of internet users. And, as European internet penetration continues to expand, there is more potential for new orders in Europe than in North America.
Expansion of marketing to the US & Europe is somewhat easier than is expansion into Asia, which also has impressive growth volumes. Europe and North America are part of “Western Culture” with similar buying habits and belief systems. And, technical infrastructures in Europe and North America are on par with each other.
Still, Asia is also an important part of international growth for ecommerce merchants. Asia has 825 million internet users but only a 21.5% internet penetration rates. Growth of internet penetration in Asia from 2000-2010 was 621.8%.
Central and South America also represent growth markets for ecommerce. Latin America and the Caribbean had growth of 1,032% from 2000-2010.
Offering alternative payments on your checkout page is the fastest way to get more sales.
In the US, electronic checks are a trusted alternative payment method. Millions of American shoppers use echecks to pay for goods & services on a regular basis. Accept checks online & get more orders.
For international shoppers, add local bank transfers. Popular throughout the world, local bank transfers are often preferred over cards.
Get more sales from the global ecommerce market. Adding alternative payment methods to your website is quick way to obtain orders from shoppers around the world.
Are you interested in adding alternative payments to your checkout page to increase sales & profits?
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