Today, “Digital Vitality, for U - 2020 Amazon Global Store Cloud Forum and Direct Procurement Conference” was launched online for the first time. More than 100 high-quality manufacturers were invited to participate in the exhibition, directly connected with tens of thousands of high-quality Chinese sellers, and brought together Amazon “experts”, big sellers and industry heavyweights to share online to help high-quality manufacturers and sellers seize export cross-border e-commerce development opportunities under the new normal.

At the conference, Amazon Global Store released the “From New Business Format to New Normal - 2020 China Export Cross-border E-commerce Trend Report” (hereinafter referred to as the report). This report was co-produced by Amazon Global Selling China and Caixin Think Tank, a domestic authority. Combining years of experience in Amazon's global retail sales, this report sorts out the development trends of China's export cross-border e-commerce industry and sellers over the past five years.

Cindy Tai, Amazon Global Vice President and Asia Pacific Head of Amazon Global Selling, said:

Over the past five years, the Chinese seller community has continued to grow and has become one of the important forces in providing high-quality products to global consumers.

China's export cross-border e-commerce industry and sellers have experienced an evolution from 'barbaric growth' to 'intensive farming'. Export cross-border e-commerce is becoming an important supporting force for China's foreign trade, and is moving from a 'new form' of foreign trade to a 'new normal' of foreign trade.

We hope to provide inspiration and lessons for the industry through interpretation of China's export cross-border e-commerce trends, strengthen confidence in digital transformation and development, and help more enterprises seize development opportunities under the new normal of the epidemic.

The report shows that in the past five years, global cross-border e-commerce has shown rapid development. The epidemic has caused global consumption trends to shift from offline to online, and the development opportunities and challenges of the cross-border e-commerce industry coexist. Based on Amazon related data and Chinese seller research, the report summarizes and shares the five major trends shown by Chinese sellers in the past five years.

The geographical distribution of sellers is becoming more and more extensive, from the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta to the inland, and the number of sellers in the Haixi Economic Zone, central and northern regions is growing rapidly.

Among them, the Yangtze River Delta region, as a traditional manufacturing center in China, has seen the fastest seller growth rate in the past five years, and the seller scale has grown 9 times; sellers in the Pearl River Delta region have grown 6 times, with concentrated industries, rich human resources, and a mature foreign trade base, nurturing the largest seller base in the country; sellers in the Haixi Economic Zone, represented by Fujian, have increased fivefold, showing clear advantages in competition in categories such as clothing, footwear, luggage, furniture, home furnishings, outdoor lighting, etc.; sellers in North China and central China have gradually risen, taking Beijing as an example. name The brand first rose to prominence in the global market.

At the same time, the types of sellers are also more diverse. Not only have many successful Internet native brands emerged in the past five years, such as Go Out and Ask, etc., but traditional manufacturers, traditional foreign traders, and famous traditional brands have also continued to join the export cross-border e-commerce industry, opening up new opportunities for business growth, such as Covos.

The pace of international expansion of sellers is accelerating, and they are constantly seeking diversified business opportunities. According to a survey of Chinese sellers selling on Amazon's global stores, nearly 60% of sellers already operate two or more Amazon overseas sites at the same time, and 82% of sellers plan to expand new sites based on existing ones.

In the process of speeding up global expansion, sellers are not only considering mature sites such as the US and Europe, but also actively deploying emerging sites such as the Middle East, Australia, and Singapore. Furthermore, with the development of the Amazon Business (Amazon Business) business, sellers are actively experimenting with new commercial procurement models.

Research shows that nearly 50% of sellers are targeting both consumers and corporate and institutional buyers. It is worth noting that a broader global layout and more diverse business models not only open up new growth opportunities for sellers, but also effectively enhance the resilience of enterprises to risks.

As the export cross-border e-commerce industry gradually shifts to “intensive cultivation”, sellers pay more attention to long-term business development and continue to invest in product development, brand registration and construction, and brand protection.

In terms of product development, with first-hand feedback from consumers on Amazon's overseas sites, sellers have effectively improved product design, improved product selection quality, and guided new product development. Many products loved by European and American consumers, such as popular Orolay down jackets, have emerged.

In terms of brand registration and construction, sellers use lightweight methods provided by cross-border e-commerce to build international brands, and create their own brand stories while focusing on brand registration, such as Zebao. According to Amazon data, between 2017 and 2019, the number of Chinese sellers who completed Brand Registry (Brand Registry) on Amazon increased tenfold.

Amazon helps sellers protect their brands through brand registration, the Transparency Transparency Program, Project Zero, and many other practical tools and services. According to Amazon data, more than 200,000 brands around the world have participated in the Brand Registry.

As global consumer needs become more diverse and refined, Chinese sellers continue to enrich their product selection and gradually shift from standardized products to more valuable, more diverse, and more personalized products. Among them, sales in categories such as kitchen, home, and clothing increased significantly; the selection of outdoor, sports, and home improvement categories continued to be enriched; categories such as consumer electronics and household goods closely followed trends and incorporated more “smart” elements to launch products such as smart bracelets, smart audio, and smart sweepers. Many sellers innovatively developed smart products incorporating Amazon's ALEXA technology.

Over the past five years, sellers' ability to respond quickly to changes in the overseas environment and consumer demand has been continuously upgraded. They can quickly identify global consumer trends and flexibly adjust product selection strategies, demonstrating the advantages of a flexible supply chain. During the epidemic, Chinese sellers promptly provided global consumers with high-quality epidemic prevention materials and necessities of life. Driven by new scenarios such as home living and telecommuting, they provided overseas consumers with high-demand products such as home, kitchen supplies, personal care and health, indoor sports, pets, and gardening.

The Direct Procurement Conference is one of Amazon's flagship events of the year for global retail sales. It has been co-hosted with the China (Hangzhou) Cross-border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone for three sessions. It has also received support from the Hangzhou Jianggan District People's Government in the past two years to help sellers better connect with manufacturers. Affected by the pandemic this year, for the first time, the Direct Procurement Conference built a direct online connection bridge through an innovative cloud model to help high-quality manufacturers and sellers seize opportunities for digital transformation and development.

Over the past five years, Amazon Global Store has cooperated with local governments and industry organizations to achieve remarkable results in various areas such as industrial belt development, industrial cluster construction, brand going overseas, and talent training through models such as cross-border e-commerce parks, helping Chinese sellers in different regions transform and develop and expand their global business.

Since the Hangzhou Cross-border E-commerce Park was put into use in the Qiantang Smart City in Jianggan District for a year, it has effectively promoted the development of the export cross-border e-commerce industry in Hangzhou and surrounding regions. In July of this year, Amazon Global Store signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce to launch the “New Foreign Trade Support Plan” to promote the transformation and upgrading of 10 cities and more than 50 industrial belts in Zhejiang Province to support the transformation and upgrading of traditional foreign trade enterprises.

During the pandemic, in order to help sellers resume work and resume production to solve talent problems, Amazon Global Store collaborated with universities and governments in Hangzhou, Ningbo, Xiamen and other places to launch the “Amazon Global Store 101 · Era Youth Program” 2020 Cloud Job Fair and Internship Training programs to promote the efficient connection of school-enterprise cross-border e-commerce professionals.

Chen Weijing, deputy director of the Hangzhou Cross-border E-commerce Comprehensive Trial Office, said, “As the first cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone in the country, the Hangzhou Cross-border E-commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone has always insisted on promoting the digital transformation of traditional foreign trade and manufacturing enterprises as a key direction. We hope to use this direct procurement conference as an opportunity to continue to further deepen cooperation with Amazon in global online stores, brand expansion, seller cultivation, and talent training to promote the high-quality development of the cross-border e-commerce industry. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

Lou Jianzhong, head of the Hangzhou Jianggan District People's Government, said, “Since the opening of the Hangzhou Cross-border E-commerce Park, our district and Amazon Global Store have cooperated in investment promotion, market expansion, industrial chain layout, and talent training, injecting new momentum into the development of cross-border e-commerce exports throughout the region. Jianggan District will continue to make every effort to promote cross-border e-commerce towards high-quality development of the entire industry chain with an open and inclusive attitude. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

In the future, Amazon will continue to invest in innovation, deepen local services at the level of business model and talent development, help sellers continuously improve their core competitiveness in the international market in terms of brand building, operational capabilities, and product compliance, and work with sellers to achieve business development.

Scan the QR code below to download “From New Business Format to New Normal - 2020 China Export Cross-border E-commerce Trend Report”