In recent years, with the development of the economy, the scale of China’s cross-border e-commerce transactions has continued to expand, and the proportion of import transactions has increased rapidly, prompting the upgrading of the domestic industrial structure. Traditional foreign trade companies have begun to think about how to adapt to the times and consumer needs, and have tried to find new development ideas in the transformation. This chapter will help readers understand the difference between traditional retail and cross-border e-commerce, and understand what opportunities and challenges cross-border e-commerce will bring us.
1.1 Types of cross-border e-commerce
Cross-border e-commerce refers to an international business activity in which transaction entities in different fields conduct transactions and payments through e-commerce platforms, and send the business to a designated location in the form of cross-border logistics to complete the transaction. According to the business model, cross-border e-commerce can be divided into three categories.
1.1.1 C2C cross-border e-commerce
C2C (Consumer to Consumer, C2C), that is, consumer to consumer, is an online retail business activity conducted by consumers in cross-border foreign trade activities. For example, a consumer has a mobile phone and sells it to another consumer through a cross-border transaction on the Internet. This type of transaction is called C2C e-commerce.
Currently, the well-known C2C cross-border platforms include: eBay, Taobao, NetEase Kaola, Xiaohongshu, etc. Users can trade goods through these online trading platforms.
1.1.2 B2C cross-border e-commerce
B2C (Business to Consumer, B2C), that is, business to consumer, is a commercial retail model in which merchants sell products and services directly to consumers. Under this model, merchants mainly sell personal consumer goods to consumers through logistics methods such as air parcels, mail and express delivery, and most of them are not currently included in customs registration.
Currently, the well-known B2C cross-border platforms include: Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Zhiyu, Global Easy Shopping, LightInTheBox, JD.com, NetEase Kaola, Xiaohongshu, etc. Users can trade goods through these online trading platforms.