British sites enjoy influx of Chinese customers on Singles Day

Wednesday, November 15, 2017 - 10:34 by Sarah Collinson

Although Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be major events for consumers in the west, the 11th of September has eclipsed them both in China. This year retailers based in the UK were able to take full advantage of its incredibly popularity.

Internet Retailing reports that the average amount spent via safe shopping online by Chinese consumers is equivalent to £123, which is around £34 higher than the monthly average recorded in the UK. Just over half of China’s e-commerce fans made purchases from British outlets in the past quarter.

A study from Royal Mail found that the power of retail brands from the UK is playing a big part in this growth, with three quarters of Chinese respondents claiming that they trust outlets from this country to sell them genuine goods. This comes as a response to the fact that phoney products are all too common in China and can occasionally make their way back to the UK.

Although Britain’s e-commerce market is better developed than China’s, the vast sums spent on Singles Day are enough to show that this is a country that is quickly embracing safe shopping online while leaving the high street behind altogether.

The impact of smartphones is another influencing factor, with social media and search engines accessed via mobile devices used to channel consumers onto UK-owned sites. So while just 38 per cent of people questioned said that they set out to use British retailers at the start of their e-commerce journey, the majority said that they would buy from one if they encountered a relevant site while shopping.

With masses of room for growth, China will become increasingly important on the global online shopping scene and UK retailers are already reaping the rewards of this shift.