China Cross-Border eCommerce has been growing steadily in the last few years, and it’s showing no sign of stopping. According to estimations, cross-border eCommerce transactions reached over 250 billion renminbi (USD 40 billion) in 2015. According to a report published by Paypal, 81% of Chinese consumer shoppers purchased products online, of which 35% also engaged in cross-border eCommerce, with the countries of preference being Japan, United States and South Korea.
The growth of China Cross-Border eCommerce has been fuelled by the rising incomes in the Asian giant as well as the constant strengthening of its currency. Chinese shoppers are increasingly preferring to buy directly from abroad for a number of reasons: first, certain products are still not available in the traditional channels, and shoppers have finally the chance to purchase their favorite goods, no matter how niche they may be. Furthermore, Chinese shoppers are still afraid to obtain fake products when buying on loosely regulated platform such as TaoBao, and feel safer when purchasing products directly from abroad. Lastly, products imported into China through the traditional channels are sold with high markups, with the final price being up to twice as much as the same product in other countries.
According to studies by Alibaba, China cross-border eCommerce will grow to One trillion RMB in 2020, with a five years compound annual growth of over 27%.
