Is now a good time to go global?

It has been a financially difficult couple of months for a number of businesses in the UK and with a recession now in place, there is a lot of uncertainty about the future

Despite the restrictions of lockdown slowly being lifted, there has been the biggest decline in UK GDP in the second quarter of the financial year compared to other countries. With recurring headlines of redundancies and job cuts over the last few weeks, for companies selling in the UK, things may seem to look rather bleak.

Globally, however, it is a different story. Global internet traffic has grown by 30% this year, and the digital behaviours formed in lockdown, such as the increased use of social media and connected devices, seem like they are here to stay. GlobalWebIndex found that seven in ten internet users are spending more time on their mobile devices compared to pre-pandemic levels, with five in ten spending more time on their laptops than before, social media users have risen by 10% over the last year, and online sales have grown 55% year on year globally.

Does cross-border ecommerce provide a solution?

International expansion is a great option in terms of increasing your profits and customer base, but even more so at a time when you may be experiencing reduced sales nationally.

Over half (57%) of people worldwide now purchase from international countries, and it is forecasted that cross-border ecommerce will gain a 22% share of total worldwide ecommerce by the year 2022.

Many countries have seen a large rise in online spending as a direct result of the pandemic; launching into these markets gives you the opportunity to capitalise on cross-border ecommerce and bolster your reduced sales in the UK market. You can find out more about cross-border ecommerce here.

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