Cross-border e-commerce refers to a type of transaction in which trading entities belonging to different customs borders complete transactions through e-commerce platforms, conduct electronic payment settlements, and deliver goods through cross-border e-commerce logistics and off-site warehousing. international business activities. In short, it is to conduct foreign trade import and export business through cross-border e-commerce platform. This article briefly analyzes the current development status of my country’s cross-border e-commerce trade and the future development trend of cross-border e-commerce exports. The cross-border e-commerce involved mainly includes B2B and B2C.
Overview of the development of new cross-border e-commerce businesses
01 Rapid development of cross-border e-commerce trade
In recent years, the scale of cross-border e-commerce in my country has grown rapidly. According to China Customs data, the import and export lists inspected and released by the customs cross-border e-commerce management platform in 2020 reached 2.45 billion, a year-on-year increase of 63.3%, and the import and export volume reached 1.7 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.1%. Compared with 2015 , an increase of 10 times in 5 years. According to relevant information from the Ministry of Commerce, there are more than 1,500 comprehensive foreign trade service companies in my country, and the number of overseas warehouses exceeds 1,900 (of which North America, Europe, and Asia account for 90%). From January to June 2021, my country’s cross-border e-commerce import and export volume reached 886.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.6%, of which exports were 603.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 44.1%, which was 5.5 percentage points higher than the growth rate of national trade in goods exports during the same period. Since 2015, the State Council has established 105 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones in 5 batches, covering basically the entire country from a regional perspective, forming a cross-border e-commerce development pattern that links land and sea and domestically, and supports both east and west.
From the perspective of cross-border e-commerce structure, in 2019, among the cross-border trade subject to customs supervision, B2B transaction size accounted for about 80%, and B2C accounted for about 20%; the eastern coast The region is in a leading position, among which Guangdong Province is much larger than other provinces and cities; cross-border export trade entities have gradually evolved from large e-commerce platforms to brand enterprises, paying more attention to consumers as the core, data flow as the driving force, and improving product quality. and innovation, strengthen the rapid response capabilities of the supply chain, and improve logistics efficiency and control.
02 The export platform is in the transitional stage of “growth stage – maturity stage”
Imported cross-border electricity The competitive landscape among merchants is relatively clear. In 2019, the Taobao platform (Tmall Global + NetEase Kaola) occupied the absolute leading position with a market share of 52.1%. As a whole, export cross-border e-commerce has not yet formed a stable development pattern. Platform-based e-commerce, independent websites, third-party platform sellers and other main models are in full bloom, with low concentration. It is in the transition period of nurturing various types of leading e-commerce. There are many entities participating in the competition, and a considerable number of them will inevitably be eliminated.
Under the B2B model of export e-commerce, platform-based e-commerce is currently in a leading position, providing an online transaction and negotiation platform for export companies and overseas buyers to earn commissions, such as Alibaba International Station, Dunhuang Net, etc. Under the export e-commerce B2C model, there are large platforms such as Amazon and AliExpress, third-party platform sellers such as Anker Innovation and Aoji Technology that rely on offline entities, e-commerce platforms and independent websites, and independent websites such as SHEIN and ZAFUL. seller. Each of the above models has its advantages and disadvantages. If you stay on a large platform, you can enjoy platform customer resources. However, if the product and brand advantages are not outstanding, it will be easily covered by other product information, and it will be difficult to independently grasp consumer information; third-party platforms are similar to omni-channel operations and can Increase product penetration and diversify business risks, but it requires a large investment and the formation of a professional team, and the return cycle is relatively long; independent stations can independently master and mine consumption data and control marketing methods, but they need to have professional network platform construction and operation capabilities , it is difficult to accumulate user traffic in the early stage, and it is necessary to improve user retention and conversion through brands and products.
Cross-border e-commerce export process and customs declaration methods
B2B refers to the cross-border After the e-commerce platform reaches a transaction with an overseas enterprise and exports the goods directly to the overseas enterprise or overseas warehouse through cross-border logistics, the enterprise can choose the customs supervision mode code “9710” or “9810” to declare to the customs according to its business type. Starting from July 1, 2021, the pilot cross-border e-commerce B2B export supervision will be replicated and promoted by customs across the country. B2B cross-border e-commerce customs supervision declaration methods are detailed in the table below:
B2C refers to domestic enterprises through cross-border e-commerce The platform reaches transactions with overseas consumers and transports goods to overseas consumers or overseas warehouses through cross-border logistics. Logistics mainly uses air parcels, mail, express delivery, etc., and few are included in customs registration. The customs declaration entities are generally postal or Express companies can choose the customs supervision mode code “9610” or “1210” to declare to the customs according to the nature of the goods. B2C cross-border e-commerce customs supervision declaration methods are detailed in the table below:
Cross-border electricity Prospects for the development trend of commercial exports
01 Cross-border e-commerce exports usher in historic development opportunities
After the outbreak of the new coronavirus pneumonia, social isolation and physical retail channels were blocked This will make global consumers more deeply aware of the convenience of online shopping, and online shopping habits may remain permanent in the post-epidemic era. In 2020, the worldThe number of e-commerce users increased by 9.5% year-on-year to 3.4 billion. According to data from Euromonitor and Deloitte, the penetration rate of e-commerce users in the United States and the European Union has reached 77% and 72% respectively in 2020. The proportion of online sales of clothing and footwear products among American consumers has increased from 25% before the epidemic to 30% in 2021.
Thanks to a stable economic and political environment, a complete industrial system, and a quick-response supply chain, my country provides the world with a rich variety of cost-effective products, which have won the favor of overseas consumers. the favor of the reader. According to statistics from Paypal, the major global cross-border e-commerce payment institution, my country has become the world’s largest B2C cross-border e-commerce transaction market. About 26% of global payment transactions occur in the mainland, with the United States ranking second at 21%, followed by It’s the UK, Germany and Japan. A globalization think tank survey (5,005 questionnaires from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and France) showed that clothing and footwear is the category with the highest frequency of cross-border purchases. It is also the first choice category for consumers who are experiencing online shopping for the first time, and 75 % of the respondents said they would continue to purchase clothing, footwear and socks online after the epidemic.
The formation of online consumption habits collides with my country’s strong supply capacity of consumer goods, making cross-border e-commerce a new model for Chinese enterprises to “go overseas”, and enterprises are accelerating the globalization of digital channels. In addition, a series of policies to support and improve cross-border e-commerce, including “voucher-free tax exemption”, “list verification and summary declaration” and other customs declaration and investment facilitation measures, as well as encouraging the construction of overseas warehouses, have been gradually introduced. The popularity of the capital market has also increased rapidly. From January to June 2021, a total of 7 cross-border e-commerce platforms received 1.25 billion yuan in financing, 4 of which are fast fashion consumer goods export e-commerce companies, with categories including original clothing, swimwear, silk clothing, home products, etc.
02 Three major directions of concern in the future
Independent stations will become the basis for more brand companies to implement digital operations s Choice. Due to the external factors of rising operating costs of third-party platforms and the internal factors of further mining of consumer data, self-built independent websites have become the first choice for brand companies to deeply accumulate traffic, mine consumption big data, and use social media. According to the “2020 Hugo.com Second Quarter Cross-Border E-commerce Industry Research Report”, 26% of foreign trade companies choose to build their own independent stations. In addition, with the increase in SaaS service platforms represented by Shopify, the threshold for building independent websites has been greatly reduced. Small and medium-sized sellers can choose to open independent websites simultaneously, especially those targeting emerging e-commerce markets such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, India, and Russia. will become a stage hotspot. Although independent websites are more convenient for sellers to conduct precise marketing, increase consumer stickiness, and implement digital transformation, if they want to survive in a competitive environment with increasing concentration, companies need to continuously improve the level of operational differentiation, active product innovation, and the efficiency and efficiency of logistics services. Experience.
The efficiency of cross-border logistics has attracted increasing attention. Cross-border logistics is an important support for the development of cross-border e-commerce and a key link in improving consumer experience. According to a relevant report jointly released by Ipsos and Paypal, nearly a quarter of global online shopping consumers believe that delivery speed is a key consideration when choosing a platform. In addition, e-commerce companies will comprehensively consider logistics costs, warehouse exit speed, distribution efficiency, abnormal situation handling capabilities, etc., and choose logistics providers that meet their own needs. Building high-level overseas warehouses is an effective way to improve the quality of logistics services. With the dividends of policy support, traditional logistics companies, cross-border e-commerce platforms, and independent sellers will all be more active in building overseas warehouses and improving cross-border logistics management systems. The industry Competition will become fierce.
Compliance requirements are being improved at an accelerated pace. The “E-Commerce Law” has been implemented in 2019. The National E-commerce Quality Management Standardization Committee has reviewed and approved the cross-border e-commerce product quality evaluation results exchange guide, product traceability information sharing guide, online dispute resolution document specifications, and export commodity information descriptions. Five national standards including specifications and information description specifications for export business entities. The promulgation of a series of cross-border e-commerce regulations has made clear provisions on commodity safety, taxation, logistics, after-sales, etc., and strengthened standardized information communication between sellers, logistics companies and customs in customs clearance, tax refunds, foreign exchange settlement, etc. Blockchain technology The application will also help trace the source of products and hold responsibilities accountable, so that companies can follow rules and regulations. At the same time, it will strengthen the protection of consumers’ rights and interests and promote the standardized development of the cross-border e-commerce industry. In addition, in the economic and trade agreement signed between my country and the United States in 2020, corresponding provisions have been made on intellectual property infringement issues involved in e-commerce. The agreement requires both parties to take effective actions (including effective notification and removal systems) against major e-commerce platforms with intellectual property infringement issues, and also makes detailed provisions on the production, export, destruction and border enforcement of pirated (counterfeit) products. . In the future, driven by both domestic and international forces, the compliance process of China’s cross-border e-commerce market will be significantly accelerated. </p
