US retailers launch international e-commerce bid in UK

Wednesday, June 29, 2011 - 15:20 by Simon Crisp

Macy's, the US retail giant which also operates Bloomingdales, is going to be offering safe shopping online to international customers in the UK and elsewhere, so that overseas sales are available.

Last year around eight per cent of the traffic fielded by Macys.com was from international customers, which has led the firm to assume that it could take advantage of this untapped revenue stream by opening its digital doors to those outside of the US.

The only items which will not be available to international shoppers include Macy's furniture range and a selection of fashion items which are exclusive to the retailer in the US.

Although Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com will be opened up to those from foreign climes, the retailer has said that it will not be localising its site for the various regions in which it will be available. As such UK consumers will only have to tackle Americanised English, while those who are not native English speakers will have to reach for the dictionary.

Trials of the service have been carried out in the UK and it has been one of the markets that convinced Macy's to offer safe shopping online on an international basis, as there was significant demand for the site.

The good news is that the site will help users work out the currency conversions automatically, so you will not be left guessing as to how much something will cost when shopping from the UK. Even the customs and export requirements will be handled at the other end, so it should be an easy process for any consumers from overseas.