Global Study Reveals Online Shoppers Want More Flexibility

• Mobile Is a Catalyst to Omnichannel Shopping and RetailersShould Address Technology Limitations
• Online Shoppers Want Alternate Delivery Location and MorePayment Options
• Free Shipping Increasingly Important Along With GreaterEmphasis on Free Returns

RESTON, Va., and ATLANTA, GA, March 3, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Online shoppers around the world want the ability to search andshop on multiple channels and devices, expect to see alternatedelivery and payment options, and when it comes to shipping andreturns, "free" is a driving factor to complete the sale.

Today, comScore, Inc.(NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, andUPS(NYSE: UPS), a global leaderin logistics and transportation services, released the secondUPS Pulse of the Online Shopper™ GlobalStudy revealing emerging trends from the leading e-commercemarkets in Asia, Brazil, Europe, Mexico and the U.S.

According to the study, online shoppers across these markets arelooking for alternate delivery options. This is especially high inAsia, where 45% of respondents said they would prefer to have theironline order delivered to locations other than their home. When notat home to sign for a package, 33% said they want their itemsshipped to a local retail location authorized to hold the packagefor pickup at their convenience. Asian shoppers are avid technologyusers and the least patient with 27% expecting same-day deliveryand 48% expecting next-day shipping to be offered by retailers, thehighest of any market.

Brazilian consumers are the most advanced and social in theironline shopping habits. More than half (56%) of their purchases aremade online, the highest of any market, and 64% said they areinfluenced by reviews or posts on social media to help decide whichproducts to purchase. However, they experience barriers to shoppingon a mobile device: 39% said they can't get a clear or largeproduct image, 31% said they cannot easily view productinformation, and 34% said it is hard to compare products. Over athird (38%) of online shoppers in Brazil are willing to wait 11days or more for their international orders in order to qualify forfree shipping.

European online shoppers are gradually embracing emergingtechnologies. They make the fewest purchases on a smartphone (19%)compared to the other four markets and less than half (40%) useretailer mobile apps. They make more in-store purchases (54%) thanthey do online, and while shopping in a store, 61% prefer to checkout with an associate. In response to delivery questions, 52% saidthey prefer seeing the expected arrival date rather than the numberof days it will take for the item to arrive. 

Mexican online shoppers reflect both the old and new retaillandscape. They make the highest percentage of in-store purchases,and cite fraud-related delivery issues as a primary concern.However, they do use mobile technology - 43% reported using theirsmartphones to research products before visiting a store. And inorder to receive items the same day, 60% said they want the abilityto purchase items in a store window. Only 35% have returned anonline purchase, the least of any market.

American online shoppers are open to new trends on social mediaand in-store technologies, making more purchases on tablets thanany other market. Free shipping continues to drive purchasingdecisions as 58% of online shoppers reported adding items to theirshopping cart in order to qualify for the incentive. Further, 83%are willing to wait an additional 2 days for delivery if shippingis free, and 68% said free returns shipping is needed to complete asale. Only 44% of online shoppers said they were satisfied with theflexibility of changing delivery days or rerouting packages.

"Consumers demand more from their package delivery experience,and today's online shopper expects us to respond by creatingsolutions that are convenient for them," said Alan Gershenhorn, UPSexecutive vice president and chief commercial officer. "Globally,we now have more than 13 million UPS My Choice^® membersand over 15,000 UPS Access Point™ locations and we continue toexpand both services to meet their needs."

Online shoppers can use UPS My Choice to reschedule deliveriesfor a future date or reroute packages to another address. UPSdrivers, when unable to deliver a package at a consumer'sresidence, will leave packages at a nearby UPS Access Pointlocation and the consumer can pick up their items at theirconvenience. These local businesses are designed to be close andconvenient to the consumer's delivery address. UPS My Choicemembers can also send their packages directly to a UPS Access Pointlocation in select markets in Europe and North America.

Click on this animatedmap to learn more about each market.

About UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper: A CustomerExperience Global Study

The global study is based on a comScore survey of more than19,000 frequent online shoppers in the U.S., Brazil, Europe(France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK), Asia(China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea), and Mexico.For more information, please contact Susan Engleson at sengleson@comscore.com.

About UPS

UPS (NYSE: UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering abroad range of solutions including transporting packages andfreight; facilitating international trade, and deploying advancedtechnology to more efficiently manage the world of business.Headquartered in Atlanta, UPS serves more than 220 countries andterritories worldwide. The company can be found on the web atups.com® and itscorporate blog can be found at longitudes.ups.com. To get UPS news direct,visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.

About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in digitalmeasurement and analytics, delivering insights on web, mobile andTV consumer behavior that enable clients to maximize the value oftheir digital investments. For more information, please visitwww.comscore.com/companyinfo.

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