15.1.2 Features of Cross-Border E-Commerce in Chin...
You may engage in CBEC for import,export or both; but no matter which one,you often rely on a CBEC platform.Popular platforms include:Alibaba,AliExpress,Amazon,eBay,Tmall Global,JD Worldwide,Wish,Shopee,Lazada,KaolaHaigou,Xiaohongshu,SHEIN,to name just a few.Some of them have a global reach,such as AliExpress and Amazon,others are rising stars locally,such as Shopee and Lazada for Southeast Asian market.They may focus on export,import or both,and may be comprehensive or specialized in terms of product categories.
Your basic business model on a certain platform,depending on the platform you choose,could be B2B(business to business),B2C(business to consumer)or C2C(consumer to consumer)based on your identity as the seller and your customer’s identity.However,in recentyears,platforms tend to diverge in their admission policies.Some still allow both businesses and individuals to register,such as eBay,Amazon and Wish.Others have ceased to accept application from individual sellers,such as AliExpress.Still others have always been business-only platforms,such as Lazada.
CBEC also differs significantly from traditional import and export.In comparison,it’s not difficult to find the following features that are unique to CBEC:
Firstly,the consumer side of CBEC is more striking than that of traditional import and export.In the past,global trade was dominated by large corporations,but digital platforms have empowered entrepreneurs and small businesses to become “micro cross-border businesses”.Most of them now engage in retailing instead of wholesaling and serve the needs of end users instead of businesses.Meanwhile,the strengthening of network security and supervision of the platforms has boosted consumer confidence in online shopping,resulting in a surge of both domestic and foreign consumer base for CBEC.Therefore,in many cases,“CBEC”is used predominantly to refer to B2C or C2C selling,though B2B should not be neglected.
Secondly,the obvious lean towards the consumer side also makes transactions exhibit some striking features which are different from traditional import and export.For example,orders for CBEC are mostly in much smaller quantities of shorter intervals.They are distributed within a year and have a much shorter fulfillment period,which requires both new operation strategies on the part of businesses and new supervision policies on the part of the government.
Thirdly,the industry is drastically matured in recent years.A full spectrum of B2B,B2C and C2C platforms for both import and export is formed,though with a heavy dose of the latter two models in terms of user base.To serve the booming industry and unique needs,both commercial and public service providers have got involved and refined their services.Logistics,payment,customs clearance,etc.are becoming more and more speedy and convenient.The supply chain is maturing and a CBEC ecosystem is gradually coming into being.
Notably,however,in this textbook,we shall only focus on CBECfor B2C and C2C transactions,as CBEC for B2B transactions shares a lot with what has already been discussed in the previous chapters.