Global-e Online Ltd., the global leader of direct-to-consumer (D2C) cross border e-Commerce enablement, today released the findings of its seminal Cross-Border e-Commerce Shopper Survey- a Dive into Consumer Behavior and Preferences. The survey, commissioned by Global-e, and carried out by Censuswide, was comprised of 9,000 consumers across nine different markets who, in the last year, have made a purchase online from a retailer based outside of their country.

The results speak to the remarkable rise of D2C e-commerce, particularly for consumers buying across borders. When asked their preferred platform for buying a branded product, over half of respondents (58%) said they prefer buying directly from a brand's website, beating out marketplaces (40%) and local resellers (35%). When shopping online, respondents also indicated that the main drivers of cross-border shopping are product price (47%), wider variety of products (37%) and better quality (28%).

With shoppers looking outwards, brands are finding new ways to directly engage with global consumers to catch their attention. Social media has become a popular tool for shoppers to become acquainted with brands, with 75% of respondents reporting they purchased from a brand after engaging with it on at least one social network. Also, both Millennial (54%) and Gen-Z (55%) consumers report social media as their number one channel for discovering international brands, topping online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay. Among these channels, Instagram remains the favored platform among shoppers to engage directly with brands and ultimately, make a purchase (62%). However, TikTok is undisputedly on the rise, with over half of Gen Z consumers (60%) choosing it as their preferred channel.