| Rank | Country | Rationale for ranking |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | Cultural & geographic proximity. Canadians (as we explore in another post we’ve just published) are familiar with many smaller US brands—which lessens the pressure to set aside a large marketing budget. Add to that strong market growth; the benefits of reduced duty burden from the USMCA trade agreement; and the ability to use ground services for delivery & returns—makes Canada the easiest market to work with. |
| 2 | France & Germany | Common Eurozone policies make this a tie. Though French (French!) consumers have a considerably more positive view of US brands than German consumers the ability to reach the two markets is equivalent thanks to common trade and currency. And there’s a temporary windfall to boot: the Eurozone isn’t introducing a self-declaration/VAT policy for cross-border consumer transactions until July 1. |
| 3 | UK | A common language doesn’t overshadow Brexit impacts. The introduction of VAT registration and remittance procedures for cross-border merchants selling in the post-Brexit UK is expected to create an administrative burden on transactions here. |
| 4 | Australia | US brands see collateral damage amid anti-Amazon policies. In 2018, Australia introduced the Goods & Services Tax (GST) on imported consumer goods under AUD $1000 in value aimed at leveling the playing field for domestic retailers competing against Amazon’s expansion in the country. This increased cost—combined with relatively long transit times for standard shipping lanes—has created downward pressure on cart conversions among cross-border Australian shoppers. |
| 5 | China | Very big and very different. It’s often said that today’s Chinese ecommerce consumer is a harbinger of future ecommerce behaviors in the US. But in our experience the truth is far more complex than that. It's true that marketplaces such as JD.com and Alibaba have made 1-hour delivery far more commonplace than in the US. And the prevalence of mobile payments like AliPay and WeChat has led Chinese consumers to skip the advent of the personal computer and jump straight to near-universal adoption of mobile commerce. But the challenges for US brands selling in China are much greater than simply greater expectations. The prevalence of marketplace buying even for global consumer brands and highly complex import regulations mean most US brands need to partner with local specialists to navigate this highly attractive and potentially lucrative market. And with the need for partnerships comes far greater complexity. |
