Overseas e-commerce direct mail actually directly integrates transshipment and purchasing agents. Online channels have become a laboratory for international brands to test the Chinese market. For overseas brands or retailers that do not have a distribution system in China, the best way is to open direct mail. If overseas shopping transshipment is the starter, and buyer purchasing is the leader, then overseas direct mail B2C is the disruptor.
A typical player in “direct sales, direct purchase, and direct mail” is Amazon, which achieves a consistent global shopping experience, authentic supply, traceable logistics, and globally synchronized prices and promotions. The advantage of overseas e-commerce is that it has a wealth of high-quality brands around the world. The difficulty lies in grasping the consumer demand of local users and transforming sales capabilities, as well as deploying a new cross-border supply chain logistics system. Overseas brands and e-commerce platforms have sensed the business opportunities and launched Chinese websites one after another.
One approach is to imitate Amazon. For example, La Redoute, France’s largest fashion shopping website born in 1837, has opened a Chinese e-commerce website and provides tens of thousands of products, including men’s clothing, women’s clothing, and children’s clothing. and furniture supplies, etc. All orders generated by the Chinese website are shipped directly from the LaRedoute headquarters warehouse. The logistics adopts direct mail and supports domestic mainstream payment methods such as UnionPay and Alipay. It is also equipped with dedicated Chinese customer service, eliminating language barriers.
The United States has the largest number of other direct mail products, such as department store Macy’s, shoes and bags Endless, home furnishing Overstock, watches AshFord, health care product iHerb, etc. Another category, such as Walmart, chooses to enter China through curves, mainly by entering Tmall or JD.com.
JD Global Shopping was officially launched in April 2015, implementing the “self-operated + platform” model, and successively launched “eBay Overseas Selection, Korean Lotte Pavilion, Japanese Rakuten Market, Walmart Flagship Store” with partners. Channels, consumers can directly purchase products from high-quality merchants on these overseas platforms; while Carter’s, Swisse, Target, etc. have settled in Tmall International, and each logistics model is similar, with direct mail or first arrival in the bonded area.
There is no doubt that Amazon is the most wealthy. In October 2016, Amazon announced that it would open Prime membership services to Chinese users. Once they join the membership, all Amazon’s overseas orders, including overseas shopping and purchasing agents who often visit the United States, the United Kingdom, and For branches in France, Germany, and Japan, if a single order exceeds RMB 200, you can enjoy unlimited free direct shipping to China throughout the year. At the same time, domestic orders also have free shipping without any threshold throughout the year, which is great.