The following European countries have a lot of business dealings with Chinese merchants. Knowing the characteristics, purchasing habits and negotiation styles of these overseas customers in advance will help our cross-border e-commerce customer service personnel to deal with them easily and with ease in negotiation and communication.
(1) British market
Although the UK has officially started the Brexit process in 2017, it is still a typical European market. It is one of the world’s major trading countries. The British are gentlemanly and gentle in both life and work. At the same time, the British are very planned and pay special attention to etiquette. They pay more attention to details in goods and pursue the quality and pragmatism of goods.
In recent years, British e-commerce has been developing rapidly, and the scale of online orders and payments has been constantly breaking previous records. According to statistics, more than 80% of British people have made multiple purchases online, which is a very high proportion.
Chinese cross-border sellers in the British market can carry out localized operations according to the habits, preferences, customs, consumption characteristics and other conditions of British customers, understand the history and festivals of the UK, and plan corresponding activities in this regard, which may have unexpected results.
(2) French Market
French customers generally search for the products they want directly on the website. Accurate, comprehensive and attractive product information can attract them more effectively. Their online shopping purpose is relatively strong. In many cases, they will make a purchase online only after they have determined what they want to buy.
The customer base of French online shopping is mainly concentrated in the age group of 25 to 40 years old. There are more female customers than male customers. Because the tourism industry in France is very developed, many French customers buy products related to tourism, culture and services. Of course, some French customers also buy 3C, clothing and beauty products.
In France, bank card payment is the mainstream online payment method, and other payment methods are less used.
(3) German Market Germans have a strong spirit of craftsmanship, rigor and professionalism. It is precisely because of these excellent qualities that Germany has more than 2,000 world-famous brands.
German products are of excellent quality. Therefore, if foreign products want to gain a foothold in the German market, they need to strive for excellence in quality in order to gain recognition from Germans. The return rate in Germany is very high, nearly 50%, which is related to German laws and their consumption behavior. German law stipulates that when shopping online, customers can return unopened goods within 14 days. German customers often buy multiple colors or sizes of goods and return the unsatisfactory parts after trying them.
German customers have a more rational consumption concept than other countries. They basically do not make impulse purchases. Few people buy luxury goods. Compared with external pursuits, they pay more attention to the quality of life. In addition, German customers attach great importance to festivals. Whenever there are major festivals, they will give gifts to friends to keep in touch and strengthen their relationship.
(4) Russian market
The Russian market and the Chinese market are highly complementary markets. They have a large demand for imported daily consumer goods, including clothing, shoes, electronic products, accessories, etc. This also brings opportunities and challenges to Chinese cross-border sellers. At present, Russia has a total population of about 143 million, and the market capacity and scale are still large.
Russian customers pay more attention to the cost-effectiveness of goods and will have a certain lag in the selection of goods. In the past, most of the people who bought cross-border goods on Chinese websites were low-end consumers. Now, some mainstream consumers in Russia have gradually started to buy goods online, which has also brought many opportunities to Chinese cross-border sellers.
Russian businessmen are generally humble, but in negotiations, they also focus on practical interests. Therefore, when dealing with Russian customers, you should pay attention to tracking and following up with customers and strike while the iron is hot; you should use a “localization” strategy for Russians.
In recent years, the Russian market has been constantly changing and becoming more inclusive and open, which allows Chinese sellers to have more in-depth possibilities in the Russian market, such as setting up some offices, or finding some local core partners to develop channels, and even including brand after-sales service.