2013 has become an important transformation year for cross-border e-commerce. With the deepening of the development of the Internet and the maturity and perfection of the overall e-commerce industry, the entire industry chain has seen changes in business models, and the “great era” of cross-border e-commerce 3.0 has arrived.
First, the participants are diversified. Before 2012, the participants in cross-border e-commerce were mainly small and micro grassroots enterprises and individual merchants; since 2013, the seller group has shifted to mainstream factories, foreign trade companies and brand merchants. Secondly, with the participation of companies with strong production, design and management capabilities, the platform sales products have shifted from second-hand sources to first-hand sources and products. In recent years, a large number of companies have begun to consider taking the path of scale, branding, localization and other operations, and constantly improving their status and value in cross-border e-commerce. Finally, the integration of cross-border e-commerce, digital trade and traditional foreign trade has become more and more in-depth. Orders generated by transactions formed online are only a part of it. In the entire cross-border trade process, the digital revolution began in the field of transactions and is extending to marketing, supply chain, financial services and other fields. The trend of platformization is gradually emerging.
“Foreign Trade 3.0” is also known as “New Foreign Trade”. On the one hand, the new foreign trade realizes the division of labor and specialization between online and offline, digital economy and real economy, and transaction conclusion and completion. On the other hand, it promotes their integration and cooperation, thus greatly improving the efficiency of foreign trade. The new foreign trade covers all aspects of international trade, including trade, logistics, customs clearance, currency payment, financial loans, credit insurance, life services and other foreign trade processes and foreign trade businesses. If “Foreign Trade 2.0” has impacted the traditional trade and business formats, but has not yet formed a complete trade model, then the new foreign trade has realized the transformation and integration of traditional trade, making it an integral part of the new foreign trade. In this way, online and offline, digital economy and real economy, transaction conclusion and completion are integrated and convenient, and can truly realize “global buying and global selling”.