Will cross-border e-commerce become more and more popular in the future?

In recent years, cross-border e-commerce has developed rapidly, and many foreign trade enterprises choose to join the field of cross-border e-commerce, and promote products and brands to go to sea by expanding sales channels. At the same time, cross-border e-commerce has also become an important way for foreign trade enterprises to obtain orders.

The characteristics of the current global economic and trade situation, such as novel mode, strong adaptability and low cost, make cross-border e-commerce become an important way of stable scale and excellent structure of China’s foreign trade. As the “first exhibition in China”, the Canton Fair has naturally seized this hot spot. More and more foreign trade enterprises have begun to transform and improve their competitiveness in the international market with the help of new channels of cross-border e-commerce.

Data show that in 2022, China’s cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached 2.11 trillion yuan, accounting for 5% of foreign trade from less than 1% in 2015. In the first half of the year, China’s cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached 1.1 trillion yuan, up 16 percent year-on-year. In addition, 165 cross-border e-commerce pilot zones have established 690 cross-border e-commerce industrial parks and more than 1,500 overseas warehouses.

According to data released by China’s Guangdong Provincial Department of Commerce, from January to July 2023, the import and export of cross-border e-commerce in China’s Guangdong Province reached 481.8 billion yuan, an increase of 140%. The overall scale of cross-border e-commerce in Guangdong occupies a considerable advantage in the country.

In the future, how can foreign trade enterprises use the east wind of cross-border e-commerce to accelerate the pace of going to sea? In fact, for export-oriented enterprises, it is best to adopt both general trade and cross-border e-commerce. At present, for many traditional trade enterprises, it is a good choice to try cross-border e-commerce. There are many enterprises specializing in cross-border e-commerce joint operation in the market. If export-oriented enterprises do not have enough capacity to do cross-border e-commerce while doing general trade, they can consider division of labor and cooperation with these partners.

The industrial chain of cross-border e-commerce, the main merchants and the sea, land and air freight capacity have been gradually improved. In the future, branding development needs to hold a long-term mentality. Global consumers are becoming younger and younger, and the pursuit of products by mainstream consumer groups is not only functional, but also reflects a lifestyle. Therefore, businesses should focus on showing the values that products represent and telling good brand stories, so as to attract more consumers from different countries.