Marketplaces and search are top channels for UK brands to reach US shoppers

Pitney Bowes has released new data from its BOXpoll survey revealing insights for UK retailers selling to US consumers.

This flags the sustained effectiveness of search (e.g. Google, Bing) and online marketplaces.

30% of US online shoppers are most likely to discover UK brands through these two channels, while one in four discovers British brands through advertising on Facebook. 

The BOXpoll survey questioned 400 US located online shoppers who purchased from UK brands in the past six months.

48% of those aged 57 to 75 years – the ‘baby boomer’ generation – find UK brands through marketplaces such as eBay and Etsy. 

27% of Generation Z buyers find UK brands through TikTok advertising, while Facebook advertising leads 26% of Baby Boomers and one in four Millennials to discover a UK brand.

One in three shoppers aged 41 to 56 (Generation X) say they discover British brands through YouTube advertising.

Influencers are more popular with Millennials and Generation Z  than any other age group.

Almost one in five Millennials is most likely to find UK brands through Instagram influencers (19%) or TikTok influencers (18%).

Generation Z respondents are also responsive to influencers, with 12% discovering UK brands through Instagram influencers and 16% through TikTok influencers.

Although these are the groups more driven than other age groups by influencers, search remains their most common way of finding British brands, as cited by 30% of millennial respondents and 29% from Generation Z.

The latest survey follows BOXpoll data released in May which found one in four Generation Z shoppers and 22% of Millennials in the US buy from UK online retailers at least once a month.

Georges Berzgal, Senior Vice President International - Pitney Bowes Global E-commerce, says: “The size of the US market and the appeal of British brands present a fantastic growth opportunity to UK retailers.”

“But sellers must laser focus their sales strategies and provide an outstanding cross-border delivery experience with fully landed costs, real-time tracking and estimated delivery dates in order to succeed”.