Overview of the UK cross-border e-commerce market and guide to selecting overseas warehouses

1. Overview of UK cross-border e-commerce platform

As one of the largest cross-border e-commerce markets in the world, the UK has a huge online consumer group and strong economic strength, providing broad business opportunities for cross-border sellers. There are more than 42 million online consumers in the UK. In terms of non-food sales, more than 1 pound of every 6 pounds spent comes from online shopping. In 2015, online consumption increased by 13% compared with the same period last year, while the growth of the entire retail industry was less than 5%.

1. Amazon UK

Amazon is one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world. Its UK site has 362 million monthly visitors, making it one of the most visited e-commerce platforms in the UK. Amazon provides sellers with huge traffic, but competition is also fierce. On Amazon UK, sellers need to carefully select products and competitive strategies to stand out.

2. eBay UK site

eBay is also a global cross-border e-commerce platform, with 254.5 million monthly visits to its UK site. Compared with Amazon, eBay UK site has relatively low competition, but price competition still exists. Sellers need to offer attractive prices and services to attract more customers.

3. Other well-known e-commerce platforms

• Argos: 41.9 million monthly visitors.
• Tesco: There are approximately 23.2 million monthly visits.
• Asda: 23.2 million monthly visits.
• Screwfix, Marks&Spencer, Next, John Lewis&Partners, etc.

2. Overview of British overseas warehouses

1. British overseas warehouse definition and supported product types

The UK overseas warehouse is a warehouse and logistics center located in the UK, usually operated by a third-party logistics company. These warehouses can provide sellers with storage, packaging, order processing and delivery services. The product types supported include but are not limited to general commodities, electrical products, food and health products, cosmetics and personal care products, toys and children’s products, etc.

2. Advantages of British overseas warehouses

• Reduced logistics costs: UK overseas warehouses are often located in strategic locations, which can provide sellers with faster and more economical delivery options and reduce transportation costs.
• Increase delivery speed: Increase delivery speed by placing inventory closer to customers.
• Reducing the burden of inventory management: Overseas warehouses are responsible for inventory management, including receiving, storage, packaging and shipping, reducing the operational burden on the seller.
• Support cross-border sales: British overseas warehouses usually have extensive international logistics experience and can support cross-border sales.

3. UK overseas warehouse location and service provider

Overseas warehouses in the UK are usually located in three main locations: Birmingham, London and Manchester. These locations are cities with convenient transportation and complete logistics infrastructure, providing convenient warehousing and distribution services for cross-border e-commerce.

Birmingham Overseas Warehouse

• Karos Trading: The warehouse area reaches 2,000 square meters, supporting a variety of delivery channels.
• Ningbo Fajue International Logistics: The warehouse capacity reaches 11,000 square meters, providing customs clearance services, overseas customer services, etc.

London Overseas Warehouse

• Lefeng Intermodal Transportation: The storage capacity reaches 10,000 square meters, supporting DHL and UPS.
• Sifang Express: The warehouse area reaches 8,000 square meters, and the business scope covers a wide range of areas.

Manchester Overseas Warehouse

• Shengshi Overseas Warehouse: The storage area reaches 5,000 square meters, providing services such as return processing and return inspection.

3. Suggestions on product selection for UK cross-border e-commerce

Christmas is important to all brands, with income or financial security accounting for 37% of factors influencing Brits’ decisions about what or how to buy gifts in the run-up to Christmas. During the epidemic, online shopping sales in the UK have been growing, and many British people have developed the habit of online shopping. A survey at the end of 2020 showed that 44% of people planned to do more Christmas shopping online.

Suggested product categories

• Baking
• Gardening
• DIY or home decoration
• Sports or Fitness
• Board game or jigsaw puzzle
• Crafts
• Video Games
• Painting
• Photography
• Hairdressing
• Musical Instruments

Conclusion

To sum up, the UK’s cross-border e-commerce market is full of opportunities, but also full of challenges. Sellers need to choose a suitable platform or method based on their own circumstances and strategic goals, and continuously optimize their operating strategies to succeed in this highly competitive market. At the same time, through reasonable selection and comparison of British overseas warehouses, the transportation efficiency of goods and customer satisfaction can be further improved.