A review of online consumption characteristics of customers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia
Characteristics of online consumption by U.S. customers
Research data from the U.S. Bureau of Statistics shows that although offline sales still account for the majority of total merchandise sales, online purchases have taken a dominant position in categories such as books and magazines, clothing, and electronic products. In addition, Cyber Monday, which follows Black Friday, has gradually become an important shopping day. Many retailers offer more discounts during this period, and more and more Americans choose to join the ranks of Cyber Monday. American consumers have higher requirements for delivery speed. They hope to receive satisfactory products as soon as possible after placing an order.
In the United States, every season has a sales climax when goods change from season to season. January to May is the spring sales period, July to September is the early autumn semester, and mainly sells student supplies; September to October is the autumn, and November to December is the holiday, that is, the Christmas period, which is also the tax refund period. During the Christmas season, people take the opportunity to purchase supplies and Christmas gifts. Sales during this period account for about 1/3 of the entire year. The United States is a country with a relatively complete rule of law and has established a mature and effective product quality and safety supervision system. American customers also have a high degree of recognition of product brands.
Characteristics of online consumption by British customers
The total population of the UK is approximately 63 million. Although the population is relatively small, its Internet penetration rate is high and residents’ spending power is high. Relevant data shows that more than 80% of British customers are more accustomed to shopping online. When British people shop online, clothing and sporting goods are the first choices, followed by travel and household goods.
The main e-commerce platforms in the UK are Amazon, eBay, Tesco and Argos. In the UK, credit cards are the most popular payment method for online purchases, with almost 40% of online transactions being paid for by credit card.
Features of Russian customers’ online consumption
In the first half of 2016, the average order amount for online shopping for travel services, air tickets and hotels reached 13,129 rubles, the highest value among all online shopping categories. This is followed by furniture and furnishing products, with the value of each order amounting to 10,615 rubles. Sporting goods are very popular, with an average order value of 7,770 rubles. The average order value for shoes and clothing is 3,767 rubles. The aesthetic preferences of Russians are very different from those of Chinese. Adult women do not like too cute dressing styles and prefer European sexy styles.
Due to the rapid development of mobile Internet technology, Russia has high Internet access levels and penetration rates, large Internet transactions, and high market activity. According to statistics, Russia’s Internet penetration rate remained at 70.4% in 2016, and reached 80% in 2017. The transaction volume of the Russian e-commerce market has grown steadily by 15% to 20% every year. In 2018, the transaction volume of the Russian e-commerce market reached 1.66 trillion rubles (approximately US$25.5 billion).
Russians often use Russian local social media websites and international websites such as Yandex, VK.com, Google, and YouTube. The three famous social networking sites in Russia are VK.com, Ok.ru and mail.ru, with their respective registered customers reaching 140 million, 205 million and 400 million respectively. More than half of Russian netizens follow their favorite brands or retailers on social media.
Due to the large number of ethnic groups, Russia has more than 130 languages, but Russian is the official language. More than 80% of Russians speak Russian, and very few people speak English, less than 8% of the total population. More than half of Russians are not used to shopping on foreign language websites, and they hope that shopping websites can provide Russian or translated versions.
The regional development imbalance of the Russian e-commerce market is relatively serious. About 50% of online shopping is concentrated in Moscow, Moscow Oblast, St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, which have higher per capita income and complete logistics infrastructure. According to predictions by Morgan Stanley experts, Internet sales in Moscow and St. Petersburg will see significant growth, and the average growth rate in other regions will reach 55%.
The Russian e-commerce consumer market tends to purchase convenient goods, focusing on clothing, footwear, accessories, household appliances and other categories. Young customers pay more attention to novelty and product quality, while middle-aged customers pay more attention to brands. According to research by Yandex Marketing, more than half of Russian online shoppers have experienced returns, and many customers also say that they no longer trust the store if the goods they receive do not match the description on the website.