After a booming period, cross-border e-commerce has arrived at a tipping point. The future of the channel now seems unclear to many of the players. The trigger has been a series of regulations announced by the Government in the past year, with the goal of placing the channel back in government control.
Despite this changing regulatory environment, cross-border e-commerce still presents great opportunities for international players. It allows new players to build presence much faster than through traditional channels, and to test the market at lower risk and cost. It also enables existing players to complete their portfolio in China, using their winning propositions from around the world.
The winners in the fast-changing China e-commerce market are those who have a deep understanding of what Chinese consumers want, who are creative and courageous in attempting new models to satisfy consumers, and who remain sufficiently nimble and agile to respond quickly to the latest changes in the market.
In this report we describe the opportunities and challenges of cross-border e-commerce for incumbents and new entrants.
