Things To Know about Cross Border E-commerce before Selling Worldwide

Technology is evolving every day. Innovation is driven heavily to meet the ever-changing demands of global customers. With advancements in technology services and communication, every corner is easily reachable. The eCommerce industry has been developing cross-border trade to connect customers and sellers from different parts of the world under a single roof. The sellers get an opportunity for the global expansion of their business and the customers get an opportunity to explore a wide range of products around the world.

According to eCommerce statistics by Forrester, it is predicted that cross-border trade will contribute up to 22% to eCommerce with the sales hitting $627 billion by 2022. 

In order to develop this practice of cross-border trade for maximized brand presence, increasing customer base, and generating revenue, let us check out what as a merchant you need to know!

Practices to follow before stepping into cross-border trade

To make maximum profit in cross-border trade, merchants should follow the below practices:

Regulations

Before stepping into cross-border trade, your responsibility as a merchant is to explore all the local government policies and taxation systems of the region you are planning to target. This will avoid any kind of possible hurdles while selling in international markets due to different regional policies. 

Research the targeted market

Before starting the cross-border trade and selling into international markets, you need to research the market segment that will bring in traffic. As a merchant, you have to figure out the region from where you are expected to get more traffic and whether it is worth prioritizing the segment. You need to have a clear vision before getting your foot into cross-border trade whether this expansion will give you any kind of profitable results or not. 

Third-party eCommerce platforms

As a merchant, you need to have a brief knowledge about the third-party sellers and their dominance on the market you have planned to target. You must have in-depth knowledge about your competitors and which third-party eCommerce platforms like Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, etc., are dominating in that area. You can also take help from any leading Magento Development Company to know about the popular third-party eCommerce platforms that are dominating the marketplace.

Know your targeted segment

Connect with the prospective buyers of the targeted region to know their pain points and requirements. Gather all the information through feedback and surveys before you get down to the international market. 

Establish communication with other merchants

Try to connect to merchants who have already established their eCommerce businesses in international markets. In addition to this, try to know the strategies they have incorporated into their businesses to increase their profit margins and excel in cross-border trade. 

Payment Integrations

Every region has their preferred payment option. Some developed markets prefer PayPal, while some prefer Google Pay. Chinese markets prefer WeChat and Alipay, whereas Indian markets prefer cash on delivery (COD). In the Spanish, German, and French markets, online payments are through visa, MasterCard, or American Express while in the Japanese market, they have a payment system called Konbini.

Benefits

Every online store merchant wants to opt for cross-border trade for the following benefits:

1. Global Expansion: Merchants can sell products across targeted regions having a burgeoning economy without the hassles of geographical boundaries.
2. Brand Awareness: Brand-building comes with customer’s feedback and reviews, that in turn, is a result of brand presence among the customers. Cross-border commerce helps to build a brand presence across the globe
3. Increased Access: The eCommerce merchant will have higher profit margins due to the absence of distributors in cross-border sales. 
4. Increased Revenue: With cross-border trade, the merchants get a wider customer base to sell their products. Once your product gets international recognition, the sales keep amplifying.
5. Customer Base: The global presence of your brand due to cross-border trade leads to a huge customer base for the products and services you offer across the globe.
6. Low-Demand Products: There are products that have low recognition in domestic markets. But cross-border commerce has proved to be boon for such products. Though there are risks associated, stepping into a new market can bring fruitful results. 
7. Sustainability: Since cross-border trade provides a broad exposure of culture, demographics, and environment, the sustainability of your eCommerce store depends on the value you create for your customers and how your business embraces the changes.

Challenges

Though there are considerable benefits of adopting international eCommerce, the hurdles encountered aren’t less by both the consumers and merchants. If you are planning for global eCommerce business, then be ready to face the following challenges:

1. Fraud: One of the best eCommerce practices is having a trustworthy payment process. With a safe and secure payment option, cross-border payment frauds can be avoided. 
2. Currency: There is 25% of the shopping cart abandonment due to the incapability of transacting with foreign currency.
3. Logistics: One of the biggest challenges to deal with is the eCommerce logistics where the seller’s country and buyer’s country have a huge difference in warehouses, delivery, and infrastructure. 
4. Marketing: International eCommerce isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. To establish your brand presence in international markets need a good marketing strategy and in-depth research about cross-border trade and policies. 
5. Updated Product Listing: A minor change in the product listings should reflect across the eCommerce market you as a merchant is targeting which sometimes becomes a daunting task. 
6. Adaptability: Localization of information and product is a must when you are targeting different regions. This, in turn, requires incorporating local languages, currencies, and preferred payment options.
7. Budget: A pre-analysis of cross-border trade and marketing is required to decide upon the budget. Sometimes, the expansion of your online business in the international eCommerce market requires manpower and great products that may exceed your planned budget.

In a nutshell

Today, eCommerce has become an essential platform to sell your products and acquire a huge customer base. Today, you don’t want your products to be limited to domestic markets. You want your brand’s potentiality to be judged in international markets. 

Therefore, to sell across borders in international markets, you need to expand your business and the above article will help you to do so. If you have already planned and are getting confused about where to start, contact a leading Magento development company that would help you to scale your business. 

Guest article written by: Jeevan Babu is a technology enthusiast and strong believer in agile product development. He is a Senior Project Manager at Fortunesoft IT Innovations a leading custom software development company. A Computer Engineer by education and a technology adherent by passion. His interest in computers & the internet has made him a self-proclaimed geek.