Advertisement

  • News
  • Columns
  • Interviews
  • BW Communities
  • Events
  • BW TV
  • Subscribe to Print
BW Businessworld

Why Is Cross-Border E-Commerce The Future Of E-Commerce Industry?

Cross-border e-commerce has made import and export easier than ever before as the stock is only supplied when the demand arises helping e-commerce websites save in many ways

Photo Credit :

1500889857_5tNqaQ_hyperlocal.jpg

According to experts, the global online trade is expected to grow to a whopping 1.4 trillion and cross-border e-commerce accounts for roughly 21 percent of that. India currently has 462 million internet users with 100 million internet shoppers and more on the rise. With 92 percent mobile penetration and 22.4 percent smartphones users the e-commerce sales are going to skyrocket.

With the device of choice-smartphone and fast speed secured customers are after only one thing and that is a good product. Cross-border e-commerce has made import and export easier than ever before as the stock is only supplied when the demand arises helping e-commerce websites save in many ways.

How big is the size of the opportunity?

Data captured by a source says that buyers are more price conscious than ever before and explore all the options before making the purchase. Beauty and Personal care products have the biggest share of the revenue and after that comes consumer appliances and health care. This is not all as everything from toys and games to books and hardware sells online.  

Given the massive list of items people can shop for there is no limit to the scope and range of products that can enter this wide retail pool in which everyone is a customer at some point.

Why is Cross Border E-commerce going to be a huge success in the future?

Cross-border e-commerce takes place when consumers of a country buy from merchants, traders and brands located in other countries and jurisdictions. It is one of the emerging phenomenon in modern markets and is projected to grow at a rapid pace as everyone wants complete satisfaction from their purchase. Consumers today are very smart buyers who compare the product they want on multiple websites before taking the final step and access to e-commerce websites all over the world makes them wiser in their selection.

1) Increasing Globalization

All businesses aim to operate on the international scale and that is only because the profits are massive as the world is shopping online. The internet has made it increasingly easy to interact with anyone in the world. Whether you are in India or in France you can order the Chinese bestseller within seconds and receive it in a few days. Businessmen all over the world are always on the quest to offer the best and cheapest products to outdo their competitors and go for greater market share. The consumers too want to spend their money in a manner which yields complete satisfaction and consider all the options before buying. E-commerce is the answer to the desires of both the businessman and the consumer as they get to explore every opportunity.

2) Wider Range of Products

Consumers don’t know what they want until they see a product and decide whether they need it for their personal use. The domestic businesses can only present limited number of products which the consumer may have used in the past or has never been interested in. Cross-border e-commerce enables customers to choose products which are the hottest trends in domestic markets with ease and have it for themselves within days.

3) No Language Barrier

The main reason people of a country buy from its local sellers and businessmen is that all their queries and questions regarding the product and the way it functions are answered immediately. This helps customers trust the businessman and make the store their shopping destination. E-commerce websites globally are usually in English but the translation button provided by Google helps people from all cultures and ethnicity browse the site in their native language. Moreover, Cross-border e-commerce websites help customers get in touch with their customer service staff who answer all their queries as they too can translate the page after learning about the product that customer is interested in. This helps build the same trust-based relationship which the customers previously shared with domestic sellers.

4) Cheapest Products

Below is the model of a supply chain

Crude Oil- Plastic Granulate-Keyboard-Laptop-Computer Wholesaler-Computer Store-Laptop Customer

It shows us how the raw material first moves for the formation of the product and then shows us how the product moves till it finally reaches the customer. There are middlemen on both sides of the product and this affects the price of the product. Every country has a rich collection of resources which they continuously tap for their own prosperity and the people who own different resources charge the customer for providing them the manufactured form of their resource – laptop in the above case. Cross-border E-commerce products are basically an assembly of what the resources of each country can possibly manufacture and how cheap they can make it. Labour wages and the cost of production, shipping is different for every e-commerce website and this comparison when done by the consumers helps them get the cheapest product.

5) Limitless Seller Expansion

 Why won’t people want to get their hands on a product which is innovated in one part in the world and makes common tasks easier than ever before? Any innovation that improves the life of anyone is a welcome thing but only cross-border e-commerce enables people of different cultures to get their hands on a product which innovated in another part of the world far from the one they live in. The seller also has massive opportunity to earn in different currencies all over the globe which can catapult them into a force to be reckoned with. Once they have established their foothold sellers can form their own channels that penetrate the market to win over the customers.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house. Unless otherwise noted, the author is writing in his/her personal capacity. They are not intended and should not be thought to represent official ideas, attitudes, or policies of any agency or institution.


Tags assigned to this article:
e-commerce globalisation

Abhishek Agarwal

He is the Co-Founder & COO of Globepanda.

More From The Author >>