On April 22, 2019, JD Big Data Research Institute released the "One Belt, One Road" Cross-border E-commerce Consumption Report. Through the analysis of import and export consumption data on the JD platform, we depict the "Online Silk Road" connected by cross-border e-commerce.
JD.com's import and export data show that with the support of the country's "Belt and Road" initiative, online trade between China and other countries in the world has developed rapidly. Through cross-border e-commerce, Chinese products are sold to more than 100 countries and regions that have signed cooperation documents on jointly building the "Belt and Road", including Russia, Israel, South Korea, and Vietnam. The scope of online trade has expanded from Eurasia to many countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Trend 1
The scope of online commerce has expanded rapidly from Eurasia to many countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Through cross-border e-commerce, Chinese products are sold to more than 100 countries and regions that have signed cooperation documents on jointly building the "Belt and Road", including Russia, Israel, South Korea, and Vietnam. Online trade relations have expanded from Eurasia to many countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, and many African countries have achieved breakthroughs from zero. Cross-border online trade has started to run under the Belt and Road Initiative, showing new vitality.
Among the 30 countries with the highest growth in online export consumption in 2018, 13 were Asian countries, including Vietnam, Israel, South Korea and other countries; 13 were European countries, including Hungary, Italy, Bulgaria, Poland and other countries; the other four were Chile in South America, New Zealand in Oceania, Russia and Turkey spanning Europe and Asia. In addition, African countries Morocco and Algeria also achieved relatively high growth in cross-border e-commerce consumption in 2018.
In 2016, the amount of online transactions between many countries and China was still zero, but this broke through zero in 2018. Private trade in Africa, South America, North America, the Middle East and other regions began to circulate online.
Trend 2
Changes in 3 years: Cross-border consumption is more frequent and the categories are more diverse
In 2018, the number of orders from the Belt and Road Initiative partner countries using cross-border e-commerce on JD.com was 5.2 times that of 2016. In addition to the growth contribution of new users, the frequency of consumers from various countries purchasing Chinese products from cross-border e-commerce has also increased significantly. Mobile phones and accessories, home furnishings, beauty and health, computers and network products are the most popular Chinese products in overseas markets.
In the past three years, the categories of goods consumed in online export have changed greatly. The proportion of mobile phones and computers has decreased, while the proportion of daily necessities has increased, and Chinese manufacturing is more closely related to the daily lives of people overseas.
In terms of growth rate, sales of categories such as beauty and health, home appliances, and clothing accessories have increased the fastest, followed by toys, shoes and boots, and audio-visual entertainment. Sweeping robots, humidifiers, and electric toothbrushes are electrical appliances that have seen significant sales increases. At present, China is the world's largest producer and trader of home appliances, and "going global" will create new opportunities for Chinese home appliance brands.
Trend 3
The export consumption markets of different countries vary greatly, and targeted market layout is needed
The cross-border online consumption structures of different countries vary greatly, and targeted market layout and localization strategies are needed to implement them.
In the Asian region represented by South Korea and the Russian market spanning Europe and Asia, the sales share of mobile phones and computers has declined, and the trend of category expansion is obvious. Russia is the country with the highest online cross-border consumption on JD.com.
European countries, represented by Hungary, still have relatively high demand for mobile phones and accessories, and the export sales share of beauty and health, luggage and gifts, and shoes and boots has increased significantly.
In South American countries represented by Chile, the sales share of mobile phones has decreased, while the export sales share of smart products, computers, and digital goods has increased.
In African countries, represented by Morocco, the export sales of mobile phones, clothing and home appliances have increased significantly.
Trend 4
The dividend of open market: products from countries that cooperate with the Belt and Road Initiative are hot sellers in China
The open and rising Chinese market provides a new economic growth point for the “Belt and Road” cooperation countries.
In 2018, South Korea, Italy, Singapore, Austria, Malaysia, New Zealand, Chile, Thailand, India and Indonesia were the Belt and Road importing countries with the highest online sales.
In the past three years, Burmese jade, rosewood furniture and other products have been hot-selling in China, causing the consumption of Myanmar's imports in 2018 to increase 126 times compared to 2016. Chilean fresh produce is selling well in China, causing the consumption of Chilean imported goods in 2018 to increase 23.5 times compared to 2016. The import consumption of countries such as the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Greece and Austria also achieved rapid growth. The market space and vitality brought about by China's multi-level consumption upgrade have also created new economic growth points for the sales of goods in the "Belt and Road" cooperation countries.
Trend 5
E-commerce platforms help the development of regional economies in the “Belt and Road” countries
Compared with 2014, China's import consumption is still concentrated in categories such as milk powder, cosmetics, luggage and jewelry. In 2018, the sales of daily imported fast-moving consumer goods such as New Zealand propolis and toothpaste, Chilean prunes, Indonesian instant noodles, and Austrian Red Bull grew rapidly, and imported consumption has become a daily consumption for Chinese online consumers.
In terms of sales volume, Korean cosmetics, New Zealand dairy products, Thai and Indonesian snacks, and Italian pasta are the most popular “Belt and Road” specialty imported products. They are “small and beautiful”, have a high frequency of consumption, and are very popular among young consumers.
From the perspective of consumption amount, Thai latex, New Zealand dairy products and Korean cosmetics are the most popular "Belt and Road" imported products among consumers. They are very popular among urban white-collar workers and middle-class people who pay attention to the quality of life. The characteristics of these products are the characteristics of the place of origin and the quality of life, reflecting the trend of consumption upgrading.
