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Residents of the U.K. love their mobile devices, which makes them highly desirable targets for the e-commerce wholesalers and retailers. That there are 64.6 million people on the island, with a GDP of $2.8 trillion, the third biggest in the EU, makes consumers there even more attractive.
Speaking of devices, the average consumer owns 3.3 of them, including mobile phones, tablets and PCs. With Internet access available in every area of the home, it's not surprising that 85 percentage of consumers go online at least once a day, and that figure rises to 92 percent among folks younger than 44. About a third of Brits over 65 are still working and have disposable income. Retirement benefits were fairly generous, so don't ignore the pensioners, as they're called there. So avid for information are these folks that 64 percent of them go online with smart phones or notebooks while watching their favorite programs on the "Telly," just in time to see your Google ad pop up on their search engine. You'll not be alone: ad spending on mobile devices is about to surpass spending on all other forms of advertising.
Overall online sales are increasing at a crisp rate of about 14 percent per year, with sales via mobile devices increasing a whopping 52 percent. Clothing and travel are popular purchase categories with growth of 15 and 18 percent respectively. Consumers do a lot of price and item comparisons, conducting research in stores before buying online and researching online before go to high street shops to make the purchase.
Consumers prefer large, well-known e-commerce platforms compared with smaller offshore e-tailers, though such purchases are far from rare. Amazon and eBay are one-two currently. Etsy.com is popular for arts and crafts. Amazon has a large distribution hub in the U.K. and will stock items for a fee. You send your items to them, they pick and ship, handle the payment, and remit to you.
Embracing Black Friday
Big buying holidays include New Year's Day, Christmas and Boxing Day, Black Friday--a totally borrowed occasion since the U.K. doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving. Easter, Valentine's Day, and Mother's and Father's Days round out the list.
Credit cards are the most popular payment method with 40 percent of sales, followed by debit cards (35 percent), PayPal (21 percent), and "other" (four percent).
As mentioned in a previous blog, U.K .tax authorities are signaling a crackdown on efforts by ecommerce merchants to evade paying or collecting the Value Added Tax (VAT, which stands at 21 percent of the purchase price plus freight. Amazon and eBay, which operate fulfillment centers in the U.K., argue that it's not their responsibility to collect taxes on goods they don't own. The government disagrees.
U.K. retailers are upset because they're forced to pay the tax while these foreign- owned Titans and their members are not. As retailers struggle, calls responding to brick and mortar complaints and the hit the government treasury takes’ are becoming more urgent.
Our advice is to register for a VAT number, collect the tax upfront, or indicate clearly on your website, or e-store before the customer presses the buy button, that the buyer is responsible for paying the taxes before the goods are delivered. This will reduce the chances of misunderstanding and the need to pay for the return of merchandise or the destruction of it if the buyer doesn't accept it.
| Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
| CR10X NTN | 6.35 | 15.875 | 11.9 |
| CR8-1XT2 NTN | 4.762 | 12.7 | 11.1 |