The development environment of cross-border e-commerce includes my country’s e-commerce market environment and my country’s cross-border e-commerce market environment.
(I) Characteristics of my country’s e-commerce market environment
1. Total scale growth
my country’s population ranks first in the world, and its Internet coverage rate is close to 49%, far exceeding that of American Internet users. At the same time, the number of online shoppers in my country has gradually increased. Since my country’s e-commerce transaction volume surpassed that of the United States in 2014, it has maintained an annual growth rate of 30%. In 2016, the total retail sales of e-commerce exceeded 5 trillion yuan. With an Internet coverage rate of less than 50%, e-commerce accounted for more than 5% of the total GDP, which is far higher than the global average. my country has become the world’s largest e-commerce market, but my country’s e-commerce market still has huge development potential.
2. Industrial concentration
my country’s cross-border e-commerce industry is mainly concentrated in clothing and home appliances, which account for about a quarter and a fifth of the cross-border e-commerce market respectively. From the perspective of the model, the proportion of B2C model in cross-border e-commerce transactions is increasing, while the proportion of C2C model is decreasing, and the application scope of B2C model is gradually expanding. Therefore, whether it is products or industries, my country’s cross-border e-commerce market is relatively concentrated.
3. Development of supporting industries
Cross-border e-commerce relies on the support of the logistics industry and online payment. The stable development of cross-border e-commerce needs to rely on the continuous growth of the logistics industry. At present, there are thousands of enterprises in my country that have obtained logistics qualifications, and the number of employees in the logistics industry is close to one million. Most online retail companies rely on third-party logistics for commodity transportation. Therefore, the development of the logistics industry has benefited greatly from the rapid development of the e-commerce industry. In recent years, my country’s logistics industry turnover has been ranked among the top three in the world, but there is not much logistics warehousing space, and the logistics cost is far higher than that of developed countries. Logistics is relatively backward in management and facilities.
(II) Characteristics of my country’s cross-border e-commerce market environment
my country’s import and export trade has not shown a clear growth trend in recent years, especially in 2008, when it was affected by the financial crisis, and the growth rate of import and export trade was not obvious. With the acceleration of the appreciation of the RMB, labor costs have gradually increased, and the development of import and export trade has been hindered to a certain extent. On the contrary, my country’s cross-border e-commerce industry is showing a good development trend. The scale of cross-border e-commerce is constantly expanding, and the proportion of cross-border e-commerce in total import and export trade is also constantly expanding. Since 2012, it has officially entered the fast lane, and the scale of cross-border e-commerce has expanded faster and faster.
1. Concentrated export flows of cross-border e-commerce
The export flows of my country’s products are mainly to the United States, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, the European Union, India and Russia. Three-quarters of my country’s cross-border e-commerce exports are to the above countries and regions. In addition to the United States and the European Union, the export destinations are mainly concentrated in the surrounding areas.
2. Concentrated distribution of products and regions
The goods operated by cross-border e-commerce are usually small and not easy to damage. Such products can reduce the burden of logistics when they are transported by international logistics. In Alibaba’s product transactions, the proportion of users who buy clothing and shoes is the highest, accounting for 38%; users who buy nutritional health products, digital home appliances and luggage accessories also exceed 30% of the total number of users who buy cross-border e-commerce. The regional distribution of cross-border e-commerce users is related to the economic development level of the city. Generally speaking, the eastern coastal areas have a more developed economy, a higher level of resident consumption, and more cross-border e-commerce companies.
3. Support from national policies
In 2015, the customs adjusted the cross-border import policy, optimized the customs clearance process, classified the product types of cross-border e-commerce, registered the business entities and products, and centralized the declaration and release of imported and exported goods. In terms of taxes and fees, the tax exemption policy for cross-border e-commerce imports and exports is implemented. Cross-border electronic payments have received policy support, and the state implements access management for domestic and foreign bank card clearing institutions.