Cross-border Selling
International ecommerce opens up new markets, audiences, and revenue. Our library of cross-border selling articles includes tools and platforms, shipping tactics, localization needs (language, currency, payments), country and region analysis, import-export considerations, and more.
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Cross-border Selling
Indonesia, an Overlooked Ecommerce Market
March 6, 2022 • Marcia Kaplan
Indonesia has the fourth largest global population and a sizeable ecommerce economy. Yet Western merchants often overlook the opportunity to sell there.
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Cross-border Selling
2021 Singles Day: Record Sales for Subdued Event
November 16, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan
China's Singles Day, previously a celebration of unbridled spending, had a very different tone this year. Thanks to the Chinese government, consumerism is no longer in vogue. Nevertheless, both Alibaba — whose founder Jack Ma started the event — and JD.com, its closest competitor in revenue, racked up record sales.
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Cross-border Selling
Driven by Covid-19, India’s Ecommerce Surges
August 11, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan
Owing to its large population, India has always been an attractive ecommerce market, even if a relatively small percentage of its residents have access to the internet or adequate income. But ecommerce is now surging in India.
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Cross-border Selling
Charts: 2020 Cross-border Ecommerce Purchases by Country
June 8, 2021 • Anna Kayfitz
Advances in technology and logistics have facilitated the growth of cross-border ecommerce sales. We've analyzed data from 2020 for the total retail ecommerce purchases by country versus the amount of cross-border purchases and the percentage of cross-border to the total.
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Cross-border Selling
Ecommerce in the Middle East: Covid Uptick
March 11, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan
Many countries in the Middle East have immature digital infrastructures and inefficient logistics. But a few have relatively young and affluent populations that are eager to utilize ecommerce despite the problems. This article will focus on three of the richer countries.
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Cross-border Selling
China Is Dominating Ecommerce
January 3, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan
In China, a drab gray Mao suit was once the required attire for men and women. No longer. The country is poised to become the largest luxury apparel market worldwide by 2025. With a 2020 population of 1.4 billion and a flourishing middle class with an appetite for foreign luxury goods, China is dominating ecommerce.
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Cross-border Selling
Alibaba’s 2020 Singles Day Breaks Record, Attracts Luxury Brands
November 15, 2020 • Marcia Kaplan
Alibaba's Singles Day is typically a 24-hour event on Nov. 11. This year, however, Singles Day ran for nearly two weeks, from Nov. 1 through Nov. 11. Gross merchandise volume during that period, according to Alibaba, was $74.1 billion. This compares with $38 billion in a 24-hour period on 11.11 in 2019.
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Cross-border Selling
Success in Europe Requires ‘People on the Ground,’ Says Danish Entrepreneur
September 11, 2020 • Eric Bandholz
American businesspeople tend to view Europe as a single market with like-minded consumers and cultures. But Rasmus Cort knows better. His company, Sorry Mom, sells tattoo ointments and lotions throughout the continent. I asked him how a U.S.-based company can succeed there.
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Cross-border Selling
Ecommerce in France: Loyalty to Domestic Sellers
August 13, 2020 • Marcia Kaplan
France has the third-largest population in Europe with 65.3 million residents and the second-largest ecommerce market. French consumers are loyal to their national brands and often shun cross-border ecommerce. Roughly 60 percent of French shoppers make only domestic purchases.
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Cross-border Selling
Ecommerce in Germany: Opportunity Amidst a Pandemic
July 15, 2020 • Marcia Kaplan
Germany hosts Europe’s biggest economy and, with 83.7 million people, its second-largest population after Russia. It is the fifth-largest ecommerce market in the world and the second-largest in Europe, behind the U.K. Eighty-five percent of the population has Internet access. Germany represents a good opportunity for online sales.
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Cross-border Selling
Mexico’s Ecommerce Matures
June 11, 2020 • Marcia Kaplan
When I last addressed Mexican ecommerce, in 2014, citizens distrusted online purchasing, relied on simple payment methods, and did not buy from foreign websites. In 2020, much is unchanged. A large percentage of Mexicans still do not have bank accounts or credit cards.
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Cross-border Selling
Japan Is an Enticing Market for Cross-border Ecommerce
May 28, 2020 • Marcia Kaplan
Japan is the world’s third-largest ecommerce market following China and the United States. However, it is often overlooked by foreign online merchants because of an unusually low cross-border purchase rate and a somewhat insular approach to online shopping.
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Cross-border Selling
Coronavirus Disrupting the Global Economy, Including Ecommerce
February 13, 2020 • Marcia Kaplan
When the coronavirus outbreak emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province, Chinese authorities asserted that it was localized, albeit in an area with a large population and many manufacturing plants. Then the virus spread to other areas of China.
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Cross-border Selling
Alibaba’s 2019 Singles Day: $38 Billion; 200,000 Brands; 78 Countries
November 14, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan
Alibaba’s Singles Day sales on November 11 totaled a record $38.4 billion or 268.4 billion yuan gross merchandise volume, an increase of 26 percent over 2018, according to the company. Gross merchandise volume — GMV — is total sales of merchandise through a particular marketplace over a certain time, excluding fees and commissions.
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Cross-border Selling
U.S., China Trade War Is Impacting Ecommerce
October 10, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan
The trade war between the United States and China has been going on for over a year. A new round of U.S. tariffs on additional Chinese goods is looming. What follows is my analysis of the effects on ecommerce in both countries and possible future consequences.
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Cross-border Selling
Blockchain Is Transforming the Retail Supply Chain
August 20, 2019 • Brandon Bidlack
Of all the areas in which blockchain applies to commerce, supply chain applications are the furthest along in development and usage. This stems primarily from the database-like features of blockchain combined with traceability and security benefits, which are a natural fit for reducing costs as well as ensuring that a company fulfills its brand promise for product sourcing or quality.
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Cross-border Selling
Ecommerce in Russia: More Players, More Payment Choices, Better Logistics
August 15, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan
I last wrote about the Russian ecommerce market in 2014, in “Ecommerce in Russia: Another Emerging Market?,” where I addressed the limited payment options and primitive logistics infrastructure. Those conditions have gradually improved.
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Cross-border Selling
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Merchant Voice
Is it time to reassess importing products from China?
August 9, 2019 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth
Like many online retailers, My Event Décor imports products from China. President Donald Trump’s recent swathe of tariffs on imported Chinese-manufactured goods, as well as the ongoing and increasingly violent street protests in Hong Kong over perceived Chinese interference, makes me nervous.
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Cross-border Selling
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Merchant Voice
My plan for surviving a trade war
April 28, 2019 • Richard Stubbings
For most businesses, daily operations do not change based on who is in political power. Companies are primarily affected by their own decisions, not by the government. However, occasionally there are exceptions. Trade policies are an example.
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B2B
Common B2B Mistakes, Part 1: Catalog Management, Pricing
March 10, 2019 • Gagan Mehra
This post is the first in a series in which I address common mistakes of B2B ecommerce merchants. For this installment, I'll review errors related to catalog management, pricing, and user experience.
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Cross-border Selling
10 Tips for Successful Cross-border Ecommerce
January 25, 2019 • Gagan Mehra
Cross-border ecommerce sales have grown dramatically in recent years. The industry is collectively learning dos and don'ts for penetrating international markets. In this post, I'll offer 10 tips to expand your ecommerce business into new countries and regions.
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Cross-border Selling
Alibaba’s 2018 Singles Day: Record Sales, Slower Growth
November 14, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan
Alibaba's tenth Singles Day event this past Sunday again set a 24-hour sales record. Those results represent an increase of about 27 percent over last year, smaller than the 39 percent year-over-year increase achieved in 2017.
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Cross-border Selling
Luxury Ecommerce Merchant Farfetch Goes Public
October 14, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan
In one of the largest consumer-facing IPOs of the year, Farfetch, an online luxury-fashion marketplace, listed on the New York Stock Exchange on September 21. Initially priced at $20 per share, the stock — FTCH — opened at $27 per share, rose to $30 and closed at $28.20, 41 percent above the target opening price.
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Cross-border Selling
3 Tips for Selling Products Online in India
August 12, 2018 • Manish Dudharejia
Ecommerce is developing rapidly in India. The increasing penetration of smartphones and mobile data, along with the rise in digital literacy, has led to an influx of investment in ecommerce startups. For merchants interested in entering the Indian ecommerce market, here are three tips.
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Cross-border Selling
How the Trade War Affects Ecommerce and the U.S. Economy
July 25, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan
On July 6 the United States placed tariffs on trading partners around the world. The European Union, Canada, China, and Mexico have all implemented retaliatory tariffs on American goods. These tariffs concentrate on agricultural and food and beverage products. The effect on U.S. ecommerce merchants varies.
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Cross-border Selling
DHL Executive on International Selling, Logistics
July 25, 2018 • Kerry Murdock
Selling across international borders can provide helpful revenue to merchants. But the complexity of laws, transit times, and delivery cost can be daunting. Dr. Eugene Laney is an authority on ...
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Cross-border Selling
Cash on Delivery Dominates Indian Ecommerce
July 13, 2018 • Manish Dudharejia
Ecommerce in India remains heavily dependent on the cash-on-delivery mode of payment — more than 50 percent of transactions. In this post, I'll address why Indian shoppers continue this traditional payment route.
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Cross-border Selling
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Merchant Voice
How to sell alcohol online in Russia (or not)
June 27, 2018 • Maksim Komonov
The most popular niche for online Russian buyers is apparel and footwear. That is according to East-West Digital News, which covers technology and innovation in Central and Eastern Europe. But ...
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Cross-border Selling
Chinese Consumers Are Eager to Buy Foreign Goods
June 20, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan
China is the world’s largest ecommerce market. What is unique about Chinese cross-border ecommerce is that large amounts of transactions flow both ways. Chinese consumers are heavy buyers of foreign ...
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Cross-border Selling
Africa: An Emerging Ecommerce Market with Many Challenges
June 13, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan
Africa has been a laggard in ecommerce for many reasons, including lack of internet access, poverty, a high rate of illiteracy, and logistical inefficiencies. Most of these problems persist but ...
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