E-commerce: how does the spice trade of the Twenty-first century?

Still in its infancy a few years ago, the e-border trade is now the locomotive for sale online. But what are the drivers of this trading globalised modern times? Why consumers choose to buy an e-seller overseas ? A few figures to capture the phenomenon.

In a study published at the end of 2016, the expressiste DHL dare to big words : the e-commerce cross-border would be "the spice trade in the Twenty-first century". Exaggerated? Not that much, if you consider the figures, dizzying. Become the locomotive of the online sales, the e-commerce cross-border accounted for in 2015, a market of $ 300 billion. And its growth is expected to be 25% per year until 2020. Has this deadline, it will be $ 900 billion, and almost a quarter of the e-commerce world.

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But what are the engines of this new global market and digital? What is it that pushes consumers to do their shopping on foreign sites? First, it should be noted that the e-commerce cross-border concerns in the first place two categories of goods: fashion products (clothes, shoes, accessories), and electronics (computers, smartphones and their accessories, audio equipment, etc.).

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Behind, other families of products, is placed in ambush. Some categories show a higher growth rate than e-commerce cross-border as a whole, such as cosmetics, products for pets, food, sports equipment, note the authors of the study for DHL. And certain clients national use many cross-border for specific types of property, such as the Chinese for cosmetics. In all cases, make come the end of the world a product of common consumption is no longer anything exceptional.

Source : The spice trade of the 21st century. Guide on the opportunities of e-commerce cross-border, DHL, 2016. Data : The consumer barometer of 2016, Google/TNS

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What are the arguments to buy a property abroad, rather than in his own country ? Three types of reasons dominate: the offer most advantageous (in terms of price in particular), the better the availability (in some countries, certain goods can only be purchased at the international), and the confidence in the product and the seller.

The price is the number one reason. But attention: for e-retailers, to stake everything on the price of property to impose on a foreign market is not necessarily a good long-term strategy. Because they are more likely to find, sooner or later, a competitor that will beat it on the ground. To gain a real competitive advantage, it is better to distinguish themselves by the choice and availability of products, trust and customer service, the attractiveness and practicality of the web site, etc

the Average of 13 countries : Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, Nigeria, Russia, Singapore, UAE, Uk, USA. Source: "The spice trade in the 21st century. Guide on the opportunities of e-commerce cross-border", DHL, 2016. Data : "The consumer barometer 2016", Google/TNS

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there are also factors of a nature to discourage the purchase cross-border: in particular those related to logistics, trust in e-merchant, price, and customer experience. According to the "Consumer barometer" of Google, quoted in the study, DHL, 24% of customers have concerns about the return of the products, and 18% related to the time of delivery. And according to another study by Paypal, the three major barriers on the consumer side are the costs of delivery, the fear that the product is not delivered, and finally the subject's customs and taxes.

Finally, what are the regions of the world-leading e-commerce cross-border ? For the sellers the French, the main customers are european. At the global level, according to a study by the firm Accenture, the market for cross-border spreads in 2014 the three main poles that are roughly equivalent : western Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific area. But in 2020, the latter will have taken the first place, and far : they will focus half of all global transactions ! Undoubtedly, the future of e-commerce cross-border, is to be written to the Is...

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Source: "Cross-border e-commerce", Accenture, 2016. Data: EIU, Industry Research Report, World Bank, Accenture Analysis.

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