Brexit triggers rise in international orders for UK retailers
Retail orders in the UK rose by 11.3% in January, 2017. A third (32%) of all orders were bound for consumers overseas, of which 59% were in the European Union.
The reason for the rise in international orders is to due the sharp drop in the value of sterling making the UK “a ‘value for money’ destination”, says Andrew Starkey, head of e-logistics at IMRG.
“Over the past 12 months, the average percentage of orders going cross-border from Index retailers is almost 27%,” says Starkey. “Orders going to non-EU destinations rose sharply in the months after Brexit, probably driven by US demand as the dollar gained most against the pound during that period. However, EU destinations are now accounting for the biggest share again with a similar rise in average order values.”
A recent survey conducted by Global-E found that over half of retailers in the UK think cross-border trading will become more complex when the country leaves the EU. Despite this, more than two-thirds (68%) still have no plans for when the country triggers Article 50.
“Although some retailers did revise their plans, our research suggests that most are taking a wait-and-see approach, before considering whether to change course”, said Nir Debbi, co-founder of Global-E. “In the months since the EU referendum took place, most retailers have already felt some impact, with many of those that operate internationally seeing an increase in sales from online shoppers worldwide due to the weakened pound and growing trend for cross-border ecommerce.”