B2C (Business-to-Consume) cross-border e-commerce refers to an e-commerce model in which enterprise sellers from different countries directly conduct online commodity transactions with individual buyers, while B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms are platforms that operate mainly based on the B2C cross-border e-commerce business model. Understanding this type of platform will help sellers to carry out cross-border e-commerce business models that sell goods directly to buyers. Below we will learn about this type of platform from two aspects: an overview of B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms and an introduction to mainstream B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms.
Overview of B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms
Below we will introduce B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms from three aspects: the business model of B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms, the advantages of B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms, and the disadvantages of B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms.
(1) Business model of B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms
Sellers can directly trade goods with buyers from various countries through B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms, that is, retail. This model mainly relies on the Internet for online sales activities. At present, most of the world’s B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms are third-party B2C trading platforms. When sellers have limited human, material and financial resources, they can use this type of platform to promote and sell goods across borders.
Third-party B2C trading platforms earn profits by charging transaction commissions and platform value-added service fees. The commodity transaction process on the B2C cross-border e-commerce platform is similar to that on the B2B cross-border e-commerce platform.
●Chinese enterprise sellers first publish the relevant information of their products on the B2C cross-border e-commerce platform, mainly including pictures, prices, shipping addresses, etc.;
●After the relevant information of the products is displayed and published on the B2C cross-border e-commerce platform, foreign individual buyers can search and view the product information through the platform;
●After both parties complete the product selection and payment through the B2C cross-border e-commerce platform, the Chinese enterprise sellers: ship the products through cross-border logistics;
●After the foreign individual buyers receive the goods, the entire transaction process is completed.
(2) Advantages of B2C cross-border e-commerce platform
Compared with traditional international trade, B2C cross-border e-commerce has lowered the threshold for sellers to engage in cross-border transactions. Before the emergence of B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms, Chinese retail sellers could only sell goods on domestic e-commerce platforms or offline physical stores, as traditional international trade required sellers to have certain financial strength and resources. After the emergence of B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms, sellers could easily pass the platform review and enter the platform to engage in cross-border transactions due to the low entry threshold, which effectively lowered the threshold for sellers to engage in cross-border transactions.
(3) Disadvantages of B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms
The prices on B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms are very chaotic. When operating on B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms, sellers can conduct corresponding business and make profits as long as they find the price difference between the domestic market and the foreign market. However, with the homogenization of goods and the convergence of marketing methods, price has become the key weight for sellers to compete for the buyer market. Sellers have launched low-price promotions, resulting in chaotic prices for goods on the platform.