Amazon’s opportunities and challenges in the Chinese market: from invoice policy to cross-border e-commerce
Invoice policy and the development of Chinese sellers
On mainstream e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, self-operated products are almost always invoiced by default. Whether it is a paper invoice or an electronic invoice sent with self-operated products, they are both formal and valid. The buyer can take the invoice for all subsequent financial actions. There are two types of invoices, one is a general invoice and the other is a value-added tax invoice. The difference between the two is still related to the size of the store. VAT invoices have more comprehensive functions, and with the support of policies, some of them can help companies deduct taxes. Therefore, corporate buyers are more inclined to obtain VAT invoices. For invoices issued by individual buyers in their personal names, ordinary invoices can meet the corresponding needs.
The impact of Amazon’s withdrawal from the Chinese market
Amazon claims that its withdrawal from the Chinese market is a strategic adjustment for Amazon’s e-commerce development in China and will shift its center to foreign cross-border business. This does not mean that Amazon’s withdrawal from China will affect sales on other websites, nor will it affect Chinese people selling on Amazon stores. Amazon withdrew from China only because our e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo were crowded with the Amazon platform. But this does not affect Chinese sellers from opening stores on the Amazon platform and selling goods in other countries.
Features and advantages of Amazon marketing in China
Amazon has a broad and diverse consumer base in the Chinese market. As one of the most populous countries in the world, China has a huge consumer market. Amazon’s users in China come from cities and rural areas, covering consumers of different ages, regions, and income levels. In terms of price, the Amazon platform focuses on competitiveness and provides consumers with attractive price policies and promotions. Amazon’s large-scale procurement and logistics advantages enable cooperative sellers to obtain more competitive procurement prices and transform this advantage into product pricing advantages.
The important role of Amazon China’s dedicated customer service
China’s dedicated customer service is a localized customer service team specially equipped for Chinese sellers during the process of Amazon opening stores around the world. It provides seller support services such as emails, online chats, and phone calls on working days. The steps to contact the exclusive customer service in China are as follows: Open the backend of the Seller Center, click “Help” in the upper right corner, and then click “Contact Us”. You can select the corresponding question option. After clicking “I want to open a store”, there are usually emails, phone calls, Three ways to chat.
The number of Chinese sellers on the Amazon platform and the challenges they face
According to 2021 data, as of the end of 2021, the number of Chinese sellers on the Amazon platform has exceeded 200,000. In terms of product categories, Chinese sellers on Amazon mainly sell electronic products, household items, clothing, shoes and hats, toys, sports and outdoor products, etc. From the perspective of business model, Amazon Chinese sellers mainly adopt the FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) model. However, as more and more sellers enter the Amazon platform, competition for goods becomes increasingly fierce, and sellers need to spend more energy and time optimizing products and increasing sales.
New product selections and shopping experiences brought about by Amazon Prime Day
China Amazon Prime Day is finally open! In the past, Amazon Overseas Shopping Prime Day was only a patent for overseas markets, but with the launch of China Prime Day, consumers in the Chinese market can also enjoy more Prime Day benefits. The China Prime membership service has brand-new functions. It is not only the first membership service to offer unlimited free shipping for cross-border orders throughout the year, but also the first membership service to provide unlimited zero-threshold orders for domestic orders in China.
Conclusion
Although Amazon’s performance in the Chinese market is not as strong as expected, it has not completely withdrawn, but is adjusting and adapting. For Chinese sellers, Amazon is still a platform full of opportunities. As long as they can seize the opportunities and overcome the challenges, they can succeed on this platform.