Pitney Bowes Borderfree Brings More Coveted American Brands to Chinese Consumers Ahead of Holiday Season

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

In response to Chinese consumers' love for American brands, and in advance of holiday shopping, Borderfree, now a part of Pitney Bowes Inc. PBI, today announced that it will bring more American fashions, sports apparel and lifestyle accessories to online shoppers in China. Through an expanded partnership with Ant Financial's Alipay, it will now be easier for Chinese consumers to buy even more coveted American brands directly from the retailers' websites using localized payments.

"We are very focused on increasing our brand awareness in China as well as growing our international e-commerce business. The importance of an easy user experience, enabling customers to check out using their preferred method, Alipay ePass, is key in driving conversion. Through Borderfree, we are now able to offer this service to our clients in China, allowing them to purchase with confidence," said Alex Bolen, CEO, Oscar de la Renta, LLC, of the brand's recent partnership with Borderfree.

Launched last year, the partnership also enables Alipay's 400 million active, registered users to purchase products online directly from additional retailers including Aéropostale, Bloomingdale's, Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue. In addition, brands like MotoSport are now included in the program.

Borderfree's program with Ant Financial removes currency and logistics barriers and provides Chinese consumers with a seamless shopping experience that is easy, safe and consistent with what they know and trust. Chinese consumers can shop the merchandise at the same retail prices offered to U.S. consumers, while receiving Alipay's fast, reasonably priced shipping, customs clearance, and door-to-door delivery anywhere in China. They can also expect faster shipping, while tracking packages directly from their Alipay account.

China continues to be the top international market for online shopping. EMarketer forecasts that China will account for just over 40 percent of the world's retail ecommerce sales this year.

Also, a recent 2015 Pitney Bowes Global Online Shopping Study shows the U.S. remains to be the top shopping e-destination where global consumers prefer to buy products from outside of their own country, including shoppers in China.

"The ecommerce sector in China continues to be a major driver of economic growth, as internet penetration and smartphone ownership continue to increase," said Lila Snyder, President, Global Ecommerce, Pitney Bowes. "By gaining deeper insight on what local shoppers in China want to buy and how they like to shop, U.S. retailers can make international purchases not just possible, but probable for overall global ecommerce success."

"By expanding our partnership with Borderfree, we're enabling Chinese consumers to easily shop for products that can't be found in China, while uniquely avoiding the common challenges associated with cross-broader transactions," said Jingming Li, Group VP and Head of U.S., Ant Financial Service Group. "We are very pleased to be helping these brands expand into China, particularly as we head into the busy holiday shopping season."

Borderfree's program with Ant Financial provides payment, logistics service and marketing support to help global brands and retailers connect with Chinese consumers.

Borderfree, a Pitney Bowes company, is a market leader in global ecommerce, operating a technology and services platform that the world's most iconic brands rely on to expand globally and transact with customers in more than 220 countries and territories and more than 74 currencies worldwide. Borderfree manages all aspects of the international shopping experience, including site localization, multi-currency pricing, payment processing, fraud management, landed cost calculation, customs clearance and brokerage and global logistics services while maintaining the integrity of our customers' brand and the consumer experience. For further information, visit Borderfree at www.borderfree.com

About Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes PBI is a global technology company offering innovative products and solutions that enable commerce in the areas of customer information management, location intelligence, customer engagement, shipping and mailing, and global ecommerce. More than 1.5 million clients in approximately 100 countries around the world rely on products, solutions and services from Pitney Bowes. For additional information, visit Pitney Bowes at www.pb.com.

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