International Expansion in the Face of Brexit: Survey Results

Growth Ambition vs. Reality

• 76% of UK retailers expect cross-border sales to increase in the next two years.
• Yet 34% say international revenue makes up only 1–10% of overall sales.
• 98% of this revenue is still EU-dependent.

While the US is seen as the top opportunity for growth, there is a clear revenue gap between ambition and reality.

The Barriers Holding Retailers Back

Our research shows that the biggest obstacles to international growth are:

• Duties and taxes – the top challenge for global eCommerce expansion.
• Delivery – ranked as the second-highest barrier.

Although 95% of retailers recognise the importance of offering maximum delivery choice and convenience, many are hampered by operational constraints such as:

• Managing multiple carrier relationships
• Integrating extra delivery options into existing systems
• Rising carriage costs
• Lack of expertise around which carriers to use

These issues combine to make international delivery more complex, time-consuming and costly than it needs to be.

Retailers’ Response to Delivery Challenges

Currently, 68% of retailers manage delivery in-house. However, the strain of handling multiple carriers and cross-border logistics is driving many to rethink their approach.

Out of the 52% of retailers considering outsourcing parts of their supply chain:

• 33% are looking specifically at managed parcel services.
• The top benefits cited are reduced costs, freed-up internal resource and access to delivery expertise when it’s needed most.

How GFS Supports International Expansion

To succeed in global eCommerce, businesses must overcome delivery complexity without losing focus on growth. That’s where GFS comes in.

As the delivery partner behind some of the UK’s fastest-growing eCommerce brands, GFS provides Managed Multi-Carrier Services that make international expansion simpler, faster and more cost-effective:

• Access a wide range of carriers and services through one relationship
• Simplify duties and taxes with built-in solutions
• Eliminate the overhead of managing multiple carriers in-house
• Grow international sales with minimal time, effort and cost

Discover how GFS can help your business expand into new international markets with confidence.