Four out of five consumers in the UK will not purchase from ecommerce sites that do not list their prices in British Pounds, according to a survey of 1,000 people in the UK by One Hour Translation.
The survey was fielded in early July following the result of the referendum in the United Kingdom (Brexit).
Among respondents who were of the ages 18-24, only 64% reported refusing to purchase from websites that fail to list their prices in British Pounds, while among respondents from the ages 25-34 the ratio rose to 71%, among respondents of the ages 35-44 the ratio was 79% and among respondents of the ages 45-54 the ratio rose further to 83%.
No less than 93% of the participants from the ages 55-64 reported that they do not purchase from websites that do not list their final prices in British Pounds, while the ratio climbed further to 96% among participants who were 65 and older.
Another interesting piece of information revealed by the survey is that in London, where the majority of the population supported remaining in the EU, 77% of the respondents indicated that they do not buy from websites that fail to post their final prices in British Pounds. Nevertheless, among respondents from the ages 18-24 in London, only 52% said they would not shop on such websites, as opposed to 81% of those from the ages 25-34. The question posed to the participants was “Do you shop online at websites that do not list their final prices in British Pounds?”
“The significance of the new survey is immense,” said Ofer Shoshan, Co-Founder and CEO at One Hour Translation. “The British consumer public has sent a very clear message to e-commerce sites all over the world that from now on prices must be listed in the local currency in order for local customers to shop online. The matter of pricing in British Pounds cannot be resolved solely by providing a clearing solution, but requires that prices be listed in British Pounds throughout the purchasing process.”
Shoshan added that many ecommerce sites are faced with low conversion rates of British visitors and find it difficult to turn British visitors into customers.
“Now, it appears that we have found one of the keys to solving this problem. Not only do customers prefer to shop on websites in their native language, but at the least British customers clearly prefer to shop in their own currency,” Shoshan said. “It stands to reason that the situation is similar in other countries.”