LOGISTICS planning to manufacture domestically in response to the cost of shipping to the US rising by 30 % in just twelve months . The findings were drawn from a survey of 750 UK brands .
While cross-border commerce has traditionally been the engine for rapid ecommerce growth , rising shipping costs are causing many smaller UK brands to prioritise operations closer to home , the ShipBob study shows , and it ’ s a similar story across much of Europe and North America .
When asked to name measures that would best drive business growth over the next 12 months , 38 % said moving manufacturing operations from overseas to the UK to avoid import challenges and rapidly rising freight costs .
Enda Breslin , ShipBob EMEA General Manager , warned that spiralling shipping costs are “ strangling the growth of the UK ’ s e-commerce entrepreneurship sector ”.
He added : “ While it ’ s understandable many will look to protect their bottom line by focusing inside British borders , it means brands won ’ t scale as fast as they should .”
Breslin went on to say that small brands should still “ look to expand ambitiously ” but that they should seek to do so “ in a resilient way ”, such as by making use of their ecosystem of ecommerce partners .
“ Choosing fulfilment partnerships carefully will help small brands position themselves closer to their overseas customers , and level the playing field with local competitors when it comes to shipping speed and cost .”
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