New survey finds the best channels for UK brands to reach US shoppers

Pitney Bowes Inc, a global shipping and mailing company that provides technology, logistics and financial services, today released new data from its BOXpoll survey revealing key insights for UK retailers selling to US consumers.

The findings demonstrate the sustained effectiveness of Search (e.g. Google, Bing) and online marketplaces. Almost one in three (30 per cent) US online shoppers surveyed say they are most likely to discover UK brands through these two channels, while one in four (24 per cent) 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. Almost half (48 per cent) the shoppers aged 57 to 75 years the ‘baby boomer’ generation find UK brands through marketplaces such as eBay and Etsy.

More than one in four (27 per cent) Generation Z buyers find UK brands through TikTok advertising, while Facebook advertising leads 26 per cent of Baby Boomers and one in four (25 per cent) millennials to discover a UK brand. One in three (34 per cent) 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 per cent) or TikTok influencers (18 per cent).

Generation Z respondents are also responsive to influencers, with 12 per cent discovering UK brands through Instagram influencers and 16 per cent 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 per cent of millennial respondents and 29 per cent from Generation Z.

The latest survey follows BOXpoll data released in May which found one in four (25 per cent) Generation Z shoppers and more than one in five (22 per cent) millennials in the US buy from UK online retailers at least once a month, presenting an exciting new revenue stream for UK sellers.

Georges Berzgal, senior vice president International of Pitney Bowes Global Ecommerce said: “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”.