(i) eWTP (World Electronic Trade Platform)
eWTP, or Electronic World Trade Platform, is a world electronic trade platform initiated by the private sector and jointly participated by various stakeholders. eWTP can help developing countries, small and medium-sized enterprises, and young people around the world to enter the global market and participate in the global economy more conveniently.
The advantage of eWTP is that it can significantly reduce trade costs and lower the threshold for small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the global value chain. Through innovations in logistics, payment, customs clearance, big data, etc., through government support, and through cooperation with the business community, small businesses benefit from globalization. eWTP involves various aspects such as economy and culture. The road to promoting the implementation of this idea is extremely tortuous. The realization of eWTP must be based on the support and understanding of the Internet economy of various countries. There is room for imagination, but it is not easy.
(ii) Content sharing/community information
The content sharing/community information trade model refers to users gaining points by posting notes and showing orders on cross-border e-commerce platforms, and cross-border e-commerce platforms sell corresponding products based on the data of products being added to wish lists and liked. Typical players include Xiaohongshu. Xiaohongshu started out as a shopping sharing community, using the accumulated community data to drive accurate product selection, and using the community’s word-of-mouth recommendations to achieve high conversion rates. At the same time, it continuously strengthens innovative marketing based on user characteristics to attract traffic to the community. For those who are about to go abroad, they can use this platform to make their own shopping lists, while those who have no plans to go abroad for the time being can gain experience by visiting the community, or go to the welfare club to complete a “sea shopping”.
The content sharing/community information trade model has undergone a timely transformation from tool to community to community e-commerce. The platform of this model started with tool-type products, and was based on shopping guides mainly based on PGC. It provides shopping guidance for female users who love outbound travel and shopping, mainly for people traveling to Japan, South Korea, the United States and other countries. Then the platform transformed into a community type, positioning itself as an experience sharing of overseas shopping, targeting female users with overseas shopping habits, and mainly using “text + picture” UGC. Finally, the platform transformed into a community-based e-commerce. In order to combine the community with e-commerce, it implemented an import cross-border e-commerce self-operated platform model with brand authorization, overseas direct procurement, and bonded warehouse storage of goods, realizing a closed loop of information and commodity circulation.
The content sharing/community information trading platform adopts a B2C self-operated model, directly cooperating with overseas brands or large traders, and delivering goods to users through bonded warehouses and overseas direct mail. The advantage of this model is that it is a natural overseas brand cultivation base, and the traffic brought to the community is converted into transactions, which is also conducive to improving user stickiness and conversion rate. The disadvantage of this model is the lack of strong supply chain capabilities and insufficient control over logistics, payment and after-sales.