The nature of cross-border e-commerce can eliminate the asymmetry of international commodity supply. The word-of-mouth marketing method of e-commerce helps merchants build their brands and enhance the international competitiveness of products. It is predicted that global cross-border B2C e-commerce transaction volume will reach US$994 billion in 2020, benefiting 943 million consumers around the world. Among them, the Asia-Pacific region with China as the core ranks first with a contribution of 53.6% of new transaction volume, and is expected to become The world’s largest cross-border B2C consumer market.
From the perspective of Internet business models, cross-border e-commerce has gone through several stages of development, from information services, online transactions, full industry chain services, to policy-driven industrial transformation. These stages are not discontinuous, but constantly intersecting. The market scale has further expanded, the division of labor in the industrial chain has been further refined and has achieved rapid development, showing four characteristics: large-scale factories are online, platform B-type buyers have become large-scale, foreign trade service providers have joined and the number of mobile users has increased sharply. The main platform model has also been C2C. , B2C is transforming into BB2B, and medium and large transactions from wholesalers and buyers have become the main orders of the platform.
In the embryonic stage, the demand for global cross-border online shopping was weak, consumption habits had not yet been formed, industry supporting services were imperfect, consumer experience was poor, and the industry developed slowly, including later, Taobao’s “global shopping” “In the cross-border period, imports have been tepid and product quality varies. It was not until policies were standardized and overseas shopping became more transparent that cross-border import e-commerce developed rapidly. During the exploration period, all parties in the industry promoted the emergence of mature business models. E-commerce’s efficient information dissemination and visual product display facilitated the attraction of overseas customers. A large number of foreign trade e-commerce companies grew during this period.
In the development period, with the dual benefits of strong market demand and policy support, mainstream manufacturers in the market gradually established themselves and began to promote the market. The National Development and Reform Commission issued “Document No. 1137” at the end of 2012, and the pilot program of cross-border e-commerce customs clearance services, led by the General Administration of Customs, kicked off. 2014 is the starting point for cross-border e-commerce. The General Administration of Customs Document No. 56/57 determines the exclusive supervision code for cross-border e-commerce and the supervision process of “three orders and collisions” for imports. Subsequently, the government’s repeated publicity and policy support awakened the attention and investment boom in the cross-border e-commerce field from all walks of life.
To be precise, the business models of all aspects of the industry have been recognized, and various players have entered the game, leading to the explosion of the online shopping bonded model in 2015. Domestic and foreign e-commerce giants, traditional retail companies, non-e-commerce retail companies, foreign traders and logistics companies have all entered the cross-border e-commerce industry. In 2016, we entered a period of policy adjustment. On the one hand, the State Council decided to liberalize the cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone and continue to expand the pilot; on the other hand, it introduced corresponding new cross-border e-commerce retail import tax and customs clearance policies for taxation and supervision. Strengthening exports is an important starting point at the national level. E-commerce companies will spontaneously and continuously improve user experience, thereby enhancing overseas customer stickiness. Cross-border e-commerce takes off again and forms the commanding heights of foreign trade.