1. Government promotion: Cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones actively carry out the cultivation of “cross-border e-commerce + industrial belts”
Cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones are the test fields for my country’s cross-border e-commerce to be piloted first. In fact, they are “experimenting” two ways; one is to create a new government supervision and industrial development model, promote government departments to use Internet thinking and big data to manage emerging formats, and gradually form a set of management systems and rules that adapt to and lead the development of global cross-border e-commerce; the second is to form a new industrial ecology, so that it can coexist and prosper with the manufacturing industry cluster, work together to create a cross-border e-commerce industry ecology with complete elements and coordinated evolution, and embed it in the global industrial chain value chain to varying degrees. In addition, from March 2015 to January 2022, the State Council has approved six batches of 132 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones, which have basically covered the whole country, and it is a general trend to continue to expand. At the same time, the evaluation and exit mechanism of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones has been gradually improved. In 2021, the Ministry of Commerce conducted a comprehensive assessment of 105 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones, and promoted the survival of the fittest through dynamic adjustments.
Whether it is the construction of the cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone, continuous expansion or survival of the fittest, it is necessary to combine the local foreign trade and industrial characteristics for differentiated competition, and enhance the international competitiveness of local industries through the two-way extension and penetration of cross-border e-commerce and local industries. Many cities are vigorously promoting the “cross-border e-commerce + industrial belt” development model, and have done a lot of fruitful work in creating a cross-border e-commerce industry ecosystem, cultivating mature cross-border e-commerce industrial belts such as Shenzhen consumer electronics, Foshan furniture, Hangzhou clothing, Ningbo office stationery, Yongkang hardware, Xiamen clothing, Qingdao home textiles, Sichuan and Chongqing automobile and motorcycle industries, and Xuchang wigs.
2. Market willingness: Brand “going overseas” has become a consensus in the development of the industry
In the international environment where platform rules are increasingly tightened and the regulatory systems of various countries are becoming more and more perfect, the distribution model based on the export of low-value-added, medium- and low-end products is unsustainable, and the era of winning by low prices and eating free traffic dividends is gone forever. Industry competition has gradually shifted to product competition, supply chain competition, and consumer competition, and brand “going overseas” has become a consensus across the industry. Therefore, more and more cross-border e-commerce companies have begun to “cultivate both inside and outside”: on the one hand, they have increased investment in innovation and research and development, continuously extended to both ends of the “smile curve”, continuously improved product quality and quality, and gained more recognition from overseas consumers with “hard-core” products; on the other hand, they have focused on international brand marketing, opened a diversified layout in the global market, opened independent stations to accumulate private domain traffic, and used social media to accurately connect potential consumers. Brand “going overseas” enables companies to adopt a “long-termism” strategy, by creating unique brand value, improving corporate profitability, and building brand premium capabilities, thereby building competitive barriers in fierce competition and ultimately achieving their own value growth.
3. Platform-driven: Platform traffic tilts towards well-known brands and powerful factories
As traditional brands and factories enter the cross-border e-commerce field, the traffic of cross-border e-commerce companies has grown rapidly, and the contradiction of “too many monks and too little porridge” has led to intensified competition for traffic. There is an oversupply of products on cross-border e-commerce platforms, and the platforms are beginning to lack good products and traffic. Therefore, cross-border e-commerce platforms have carried out supply-side structural reforms, gradually eliminated “distribution and volume” companies, and raised the threshold for overseas industries by formulating strict access policies. Traffic is tilted towards well-known brands and powerful factories, especially high-quality factories in industrial belts have become resources that major platforms are competing for. At present, many cross-border e-commerce platforms have proposed international brand building plans, such as the launch of the “G100 Overseas Plan” by AliExpress in May 2021, and the “Co-creation of a New Global Brand Pattern” by Amazon Global Store China in January 2022, to help Chinese companies and Chinese brands give full play to the advantages of the supply chain, establish brand awareness in overseas markets, and let Made in China “come to the fore” in the world market.