This article is reproduced from: China Youth Daily
In the past two days, Peng Yi (pseudonym), who is preparing for marriage in the United States, received decorations bought by "crossing the ocean" from domestic shopping websites. "These decorations that set off the atmosphere of the home are all things that cannot be bought in the United States." It only took 10 days from when she opened the domestic online shopping app, selected her favorite items and placed an order, and mailed, cleared, and transferred to the country, until she opened the package.
Nowadays, there are more and more "Made in China" in the "shopping carts" of overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese. The "reverse overseas shopping" that has become popular has allowed everything from far away to come to you.
The so-called "reverse overseas shopping" refers to the fact that domestic consumers used to be keen on purchasing goods from overseas, but now, more and more overseas consumers are buying "Chinese goods" on our e-commerce platforms. Especially on January 1 this year, since the " Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement " (RCEP) officially came into effect, cross-border e-commerce, a new form of trade, has ushered in a new trend of development.
You can also shop online when you live overseas "Double 11". Domestic products are accelerating to go overseas.
came to the United States to study for a doctorate degree for 4 years. Peng Yi often buys clothes and daily necessities on domestic online shopping platforms. "When you encounter clothes that you especially like and bags with unique designs, you will 'shop' as quickly as you are in China."
She told the China Youth Daily and China Youth Network reporter that international logistics and transportation is now very convenient, fast and safe. "The things are sent directly from the online store to the transfer company, and then they are transported together. The fastest time is received in 7 days."
"You can also experience the happiness of Taobao in Australia." Every time the domestic "Double 11" shopping festival, Yu Min, who studied in Australia, couldn't wait to "clear" her shopping cart.
In her shopping list, there are not only cosmetics and clothes, socks, but also glasses frames, mobile phone cases and various cute stationery that have been planted for a long time. She said: "The international transportation platform I used was recommended by a friend. The timeliness, packaging and service are great. You can enjoy the joy of unboxing next month."
Liu Ting (pseudonym), who has moved to Singapore for many years, is an "in-depth user" of "reverse overseas shopping". Her clothes, books, toys, etc. are all purchased online from China. "Domestic small household appliances are cheap and of good quality. When Chinese and overseas Chinese decorate, they want to use containers to transport furniture from China. Many Singaporean locals have seen us shopping like this and are also trying to buy goods from China." On last year's "Double 11", she also participated in many shipping groups organized by local Chinese and overseas Chinese to pack containers to Singapore.
She told the reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Network that if you choose air transportation, you can receive it in one week, and it takes 2-3 weeks to choose sea transportation. "Generally, we find a shipping company ourselves and rent a container. The fee is about 400 yuan per cubic cube, which is a little more expensive during the COVID-19 epidemic." She observed that many Chinese people have also started the reverse overseas shopping business, "they stock up on domestic overseas shopping items at home, and then open online stores on Shopee (an e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, China - reporter's note) or on local second-hand websites."
In recent years, cross-border e-commerce, a new foreign trade format, has developed rapidly, allowing Chinese and overseas Chinese who live overseas to truly enjoy the convenience of "buying all over China". The reporter found that many international logistics and transportation companies provide more and more diverse services. They can not only repackage, record the entire process, track customs clearance and logistics processes in real time, but also provide free warehousing, and ship them together after buying them all. On Double 11, many companies have also introduced "buy, buy, buy" transportation preferential policies.
This has also accelerated the overseas outbound products, and "reverse overseas shopping" has become a new trend. Taking the "global small commodity capital" Yiwu as an example, not long ago, the news that Yiwu's "heating artifact" was exported to Europe and became a "hot commodity" attracted much attention.
Yiwu Customs data shows that from January to August this year, Yiwu City exported air conditioners, electric blankets, air heaters and other heating supplies totaling 190 million yuan, increased by 41.6% year-on-year. Some netizens lamented that domestic products are "buying and selling around the world".
Chinese customs statistics show that in the five years since 2017, the scale of my country's cross-border e-commerce import and export has increased by nearly 10 times. In 2021, the import and export volume of cross-border e-commerce reached 1.92 trillion yuan, an increase of 18.6% year-on-year.
From the perspective of products, the types of exported products are more abundant, and they are gradually upgrading from labor-intensive products such as clothing and accessories to technology-intensive products such as 3Ch digital and smart home, and the added value of the product has been significantly increased.
The development of cross-border e-commerce has ushered in a new trend, and live streaming can also go overseas
The post-epidemic era has given rise to the global demand for online shopping, and the development of cross-border e-commerce in my country has entered a golden period. Not only are major domestic online shopping platforms launching official overseas shipping services, but more and more small and micro enterprises are also investing in cross-border e-commerce trade.
Deloitte's survey of more than 600 cross-border e-commerce companies in many countries in Asia and Pacific shows that 85% of cross-border e-commerce are small and micro enterprises with a scale of less than 100 people; so few that even only one or two people can make their business reach an average of more than 3 overseas markets.
3C, home furnishings, beauty, clothing, etc. are their hottest selling goods exported to the world; the European and American markets are the mainstream markets they sell goods today, but Southeast Asia is recognized by the industry to become the fastest-growing market for tomorrow.
aims at the broad prospects contained in international logistics. Five years ago, Kim Hyun-joon started a cross-border e-commerce business in Weihai, Shandong, the Chinese city closest to South Korea.
Now, the Rongcheng Silk Road Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd., founded by him, has sent a total of 10 million cross-border e-commerce parcels, and has also established a logistics park with a total of 10,000 square meters in Rongcheng .
In his opinion, "reverse overseas shopping" is becoming more and more popular. "From our data, for example, local Russian consumers purchase electronic products, small appliances, etc., the order volume has been large in the past two years; Japanese and Korean students will buy Chinese snacks and other foods."
At the end of 2021, the time limit for the Silk Road China-Korea special line was "run" within 48 hours, which means that the snacks purchased in China on that day can be delivered as soon as possible.
Jin Hyun-jun told reporters that for hot-selling products, they will also prepare stocks in the logistics park in advance to ensure delivery time. He introduced that after the goods arrive at foreign customs by sea or land, the local company that cooperates will be responsible for customs clearance and pickup of goods and foreign transportation, "it is equivalent to purchasing third-party services, and we each leverage the convenience advantages of our location."
Live streaming sales on Chinese e-commerce platforms has long become a common sales method. Can it be copied at the moment when cross-border e-commerce is booming?
Jin Xianjun feels that with the rapid development of global digital technology , this will also be a new growth point for the cross-border e-commerce industry in the future. As early as two years ago, Deng Yahui, founder and CEO of Hangzhou Humi Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Humi Company), also discovered this business opportunity.
Deng Yahui launched the MyHomie project when he was in college, bringing together many foreign students and foreigners who came to China to work and study. "Overseas e-commerce is also developing well, and China's live streaming products can also go overseas."
In his opinion, if Chinese manufacturers want to achieve the last mile localization, they must pay attention to the cultivation of cross-border anchor talents. Foreign students and overseas returnees have the advantages of understanding China and being familiar with the local culture, politics, society and language. "They speak their native language in the live broadcast room and introduce products from China."
In the second half of 2020, Humi Company began to cultivate overseas "popularity". Now it has become an official certification agency for platforms such as AliExpress, TikTok, and Shopee. It has completed thousands of multilingual and multi-category live broadcasts on multiple platforms. "Our form can be understood as a cross-border MCN organization, helping Chinese products to go overseas live broadcasts and create cross-border live broadcast rooms."
In addition to the live broadcast room for ordinary consumers in China, they also took the anchors into the factory. Deng Yahui introduced that in response to large-scale purchases by overseas companies, the live broadcast of the factory will allow professional foreign anchors to enter the workshop to broadcast live to global buyers, "to all-round reflection of the entire factory and production process, so that buyers can directly hit the scene and establish a deep sense of trust."
The epidemic has accelerated the digitalization process of consumers and merchants. Online "buy, buy, buy" has become a part of daily life. What should I do if I encounter returns?
Jin Hyun-jun admitted that when doing cross-border e-commerce exports, customers often encounter returns, some cannot be sold anymore, and some can only be processed by discounts overseas. E-commerce companies can file and declare them with customs and return them to the country after collecting them overseas. "The improvement of customs policies and management mechanisms makes it as convenient for current cross-border e-commerce returns as they are when exporting. After completing the relevant procedures, they can be returned directly to the seller."
Recently, the State Council Executive Meeting pointed out that we must speed up the establishment of a number of new cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones and support overseas warehouses with greater strength. At the same time, with the formation of the "new development pattern of domestic and international dual circulation" and the advancement of the RCEP agreement, the cross-border e-commerce industry may have broader prospects.
