Uk eBook Agile Cross Border Trade Part1

8/13/2019 Uk eBook Agile Cross Border Trade Part1

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Agile Cross-Border Trade Part 1: Regional Insights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1


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Agile Cross-Border Trade Part 1: Regional Insights

Cross-Border Trade on the RiseOnline shopping across the globe is increasing by the day, with an estimated 40.4% of the worldwide Internet population making at least one purchase through a

digital channel this year1. Cross-border trade is playing an increasingly significant part in this growth.

To the average online retailer, cross-border trade is an unwieldy beast lurking in the cornerone you need to tame but that seems frighteningly difficult.

At ChannelAdvisor, weve developed the Agile Cross-Border Trade Framework, which offers you a step-by-step guide to cross-border trade that is

manageable and achievable.

This 3-part eBook series will walk you through the various steps of the ChannelAdvisor Agile Cross-Border Trade (CBT) Framework, beginning with setting

the stage for CBT and explaining the common concerns and key global players. Parts 2 and 3 will delve into the structure of the framework and how you can

implement for your business.

Whether youre already experienced in CBT or a complete novice, well help you understand its nuances. Well explore why U.K. retailers are deciding to expand

into CBT, as well as the regions and markets of interest to these retailers.

In addition, this eBook will introduce the opportunities and complexities of expanding across borders, provide an overview of the varying regions worldwide and

examine the most prominent countries for online retail and how each region is performing.

1 http://www.digitalstrategyconsulting.com/intelligence/2013/08/global_ecommerce_penetration_by_country_2013.php
http://www.digitalstrategyconsulting.com/intelligence/2013/08/global_ecommerce_penetration_by_country_2013.phphttp://www.digitalstrategyconsulting.com/intelligence/2013/08/global_ecommerce_penetration_by_country_2013.php


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Language versus ProximityWhether youre selling your products globally or at home, its vital that you understand your market and where your customers are located worldwide. If you discover

that a fair portion of your sales are coming from abroad, you might want to market your online services toward them. For example, if a substantial number of your

customers are located in Germany and ordering from your U.K. listings, perhaps you could consider translating your product information to German and listing on a

marketplace such as eBay.de.

A recent CBT study published by Nielsen and sponsored by PayPal2looked at the most popular overseas online shopping destinations, examining which countries had

the most buyers from overseas. The U.S. came out on top at 45%, with the U.K. (37%) and China (26%) following close behind.

The study also revealed the top five most profitable routes for CBT:

1. U.S. shopping in U.K. (16.7 million shoppers)

2. China shopping in U.S. (15.1 million shoppers)

3. U.S. shopping in China (13.2 million shoppers)

4. U.S. shopping in Canada (11.6 million shoppers)

5. U.K. shopping in U.S. (11.1 million shoppers)

As youll notice, many of these routes involve both English-speaking customers

and retailers, suggesting that buyers are potentially more comfortable ordering

from retailers using the same language, speeding up the purchase process and

eliminating any confusion in translation. The overall high English-speaking numbers

also reflect how English-speaking retailers are seeing the value of international

expansion and are harnessing their product data to expand to new regions.

Representing a behaviour shift, customers are no longer constrained by borders. Shipping from the U.K. to the U.S. or from the U.S. to China is no longer a long or

intricate process, thanks to sophisticated infrastructures that ensure prompt delivery.

Though there are very few language barriers for U.K. retailers selling to U.S. buyers, shipping products can be a lengthier and more costly procedure than shipping

to France, for instance. The potential language barrier issues reappear when selling from the U.K. to France, however. It is the retailers prerogative to determine the

strategy best suited to its business.

2 https://www.paypal-forward.com/leadership/paypal-unveils-modern-spice-routes-cross-border-shopping-creates-economic-opportunity-worldwide/
https://www.paypal-forward.com/leadership/paypal-unveils-modern-spice-routes-cross-border-shopping-creates-economic-opportunity-worldwide/https://www.paypal-forward.com/leadership/paypal-unveils-modern-spice-routes-cross-border-shopping-creates-economic-opportunity-worldwide/


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Complexity versus OpportunityBefore you decide to expand, there are a number of possible complexities to consider, all of which can vary depending on where the seller and buyer are

located. Such considerations include:

Outsourcing to a third party to deliver your products. Navigating the fluctuation in exchange rates.

Additional costs that might need to be added to the price of the product, including shipping, taxes and duties, customer service to support more languages

and someone to localise the content.

Localisation should be a consideration, especially for retailers selling clothes and footwear. Localisation is adapting your business to target regions cultural

norms, interacting with a local in their own environment and adapting to different sizing requirements or language nuances. Where the U.K. may have certain

measurements for footwear, this differs to the U.S. sizing and differs significantly when compared to other regions, such as parts of Europe.

Despite these complexities, if your prices are still competitive and products are still attractive to the consumer, then expansion could be a worthwhile avenue

to explore. Having a unique product offering can insulate against the negative impact of rising costs resulting in high prices.

Regional HighlightsWhen looking at marketplaces, comparison shopping and search engines, the U.S., U.K. and Latin America all share a reasonable mix of consumers

shopping online through these channels, with each region featuring a variety of customers. Were also seeing an increase of marketplaces looking to expand

globally, no longer simply operating in their local region.

Rakuten, a Japanese company, has begun to expand worldwide, building a global network of marketplaces. Observing a regions online movements and

comparing them with other regions can assist retailers when considering CBT and which areas to attempt new market entry.

The biggest marketplaces in North America include the usual suspects, with eBay and Amazon taking the two top spots. Marketplaces such as Sears and

Rakuten, however, are seeing a boost in popularity. Europe is fairly similar, with the same top two. Rakutens Play.com is becoming an increasingly big force

and is currently the third-largest online marketplace in the U.K.3These marketplaces offer retailers the opportunity to get in front of local audiences worldwide,

along with using the checkout, fulfilment and brand of these marketplaces.

3http://internetretailing.net/issue/internetretailing-january-2013/a-growing-marketplace/
http://%20http//internetretailing.net/issue/internetretailing-january-2013/a-growing-marketplace/http://%20http//internetretailing.net/issue/internetretailing-january-2013/a-growing-marketplace/


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Marketplaces by RegionThough Amazon and eBay are the two major marketplaces in the U.K. and U.S., the leading marketplaces vary considerably in other regions. Below is an

overview of the biggest marketplaces in a number of other popular regions.

Global Players

Amazon:Founded in 1994, Amazon is now one of the leading marketplaces worldwide, with an estimated 97,000 employees and a revenue increase of 24% in the

2013 3rd quarter, up to $17.09 billion. Amazon accounts for 12% of all visits to retail sites in the U.K. and controls 23.4% of the entertainment market.4

eBay:Founded in 1995, eBay currently has 116 million active users worldwide and 19 million active users in the U.K., with a reach of 42.5% of all U.K.

internet users. In the U.K., an item is purchased from eBay every second via a mobile device.5

Europe

La Redoute: The largest mail order company in France, La Redoute was founded in 1875 and has now established itself as a powerful presence inthe French online retail market, with more than 7 million unique monthly visitors. La Redoute recently expanded its marketplace, enlarging its product

assortment by hundreds of thousands of items.6

Rakutens Play.com: Mobile devices now account for 23% of all Play.coms sales, a rise of 53% year on year. Rakutens Play.com has also seen a significant

increase in traffic coming from social media sites, including a 200% increase through Pinterest and 80% year on year through Facebook.7

Pixmania:Founded in 2000, Pixmania is currently active in 26 countries and is mainly owned by Dixons Retail. It has seen its conversion rates rise by an

average of 6% on its strategic website in 2013.8

4 http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97664&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1868092&highlight=5 *eBay Company Information as Presented at Catalyst Europe 20136 http://www.retailtechnology.co.uk/news/4658/la-redoute-expands-e-marketplace/7 http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/10/02/social-discovery-sites-influence-retail-expanding-rakutens-playcom-numbers-find8 http://econsultancy.com/uk/press-releases/7278-pixmania-increases-its-conversion-rates-by-an-average-of-6-on-its-strategic-website-pages-with-webtrends-optimize
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml%3Fc%3D97664%26p%3Dirol-newsArticle%26ID%3D1868092%26highlight%3Dhttp://www.retailtechnology.co.uk/news/4658/la-redoute-expands-e-marketplace/http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/10/02/social-discovery-sites-influence-retail-expanding-rakutens-playcom-numbers-findhttp://econsultancy.com/uk/press-releases/7278-pixmania-increases-its-conversion-rates-by-an-average-of-6-on-its-strategic-website-pages-with-webtrends-optimizehttp://econsultancy.com/uk/press-releases/7278-pixmania-increases-its-conversion-rates-by-an-average-of-6-on-its-strategic-website-pages-with-webtrends-optimizehttp://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/10/02/social-discovery-sites-influence-retail-expanding-rakutens-playcom-numbers-findhttp://www.retailtechnology.co.uk/news/4658/la-redoute-expands-e-marketplace/http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml%3Fc%3D97664%26p%3Dirol-newsArticle%26ID%3D1868092%26highlight%3D


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Asia Pacific

TradeMe:The most popular marketplace in New Zealand and also the fifth-most-visited site in the country,9TradeMe operates in a similar method to eBay,

allowing retailers to sell their products via a standard Buy Now method or through auction. It currently has 3.3 million active members,10in a country with a

population of under 4.5 million.

Tmall:The largest marketplace in China by a significant margin, Tmall is the 8th most popular site in the country and accounts for 46.7% of Chinas B2C

online retail market.11

U.S.

Sears:Sears website is home to 35 million products and nearly 20% of all units sold are driven by the Sears Marketplace.12Sears also launched the Local

Marketplace in 2010, which allows local retailers to sell to consumers in the same metropolitan area. As a result, Local Marketplace buyers can receive same-

day or next-day pickup from stores.13

Latin America

Mercado Libre:Mercado Libre is partially owned by eBay and has become eBays exclusive partner for the Latin America region. They are performing

extremely well, with a reported sales growth of 26% over the past year and an additional 25% growth expected next year.14

9 http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/trademe.co.nz10 http://www.trademe.co.nz/About-trade-me/Site-stats11 http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/tmall.com12 http://www.ecommerceweekly.com/marketplaces/the-benefits-of-selling-on-sears-com-and-buy-com-marketplaces/13 http://www.internetretailer.com/2010/08/05/sears-launches-local-marketplace14 http://news.investors.com/investing/082313-668633-online-marketplace-mercadolibre-grows-with-latin-america.htm
http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/trademe.co.nzhttp://www.trademe.co.nz/About-trade-me/Site-statshttp://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/tmall.comhttp://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/tmall.comhttp://www.internetretailer.com/2010/08/05/sears-launches-local-marketplacehttp://news.investors.com/investing/082313-668633-online-marketplace-mercadolibre-grows-with-latin-america.htmhttp://news.investors.com/investing/082313-668633-online-marketplace-mercadolibre-grows-with-latin-america.htmhttp://www.internetretailer.com/2010/08/05/sears-launches-local-marketplacehttp://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/tmall.comhttp://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/tmall.comhttp://www.trademe.co.nz/About-trade-me/Site-statshttp://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/trademe.co.nz


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SummaryCBT provides a vast opportunity to grow into other regions and marketplaces. Just be sure to take the time to research the regions and marketplaces that are

most appealing and relevant to your business.

Keep a lookout for parts two and three of this eBook series, which will explore the ChannelAdvisor Agile CBT Framework and best practises for success.

Trust us. Be Seen.

To learn more:

Call 0203 014 2700 US 866.264.8594 AU 1300 887 239

Visitwww.channeladvisor.co.uk

Email [email protected]

The global standard for e-commerce leaders.

To find out more about ChannelAdvisor contact [email protected] call 0203 014 2700.
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Uk eBook Agile Cross Border Trade Part1