A new study from Juniper Research has found the value of cross-border eCommerce will exceed US$2.1 trillion in 2023, from US$1.9 trillion in 2022. This growth of over 13 per cent in a single year reflects the increasing success of marketplaces which offer goods across borders, as well as the rising viability of cross-border sales as an eCommerce model.
The new research, Cross-border eCommerce: Emerging Opportunities, Future Challenges & Market Forecasts 2022-2026, found that as eCommerce models diversify, including models such as buy now pay later and click and collect, cross-border options must also keep pace, by agreeing local distribution and payment partnerships. The research recommends cross-border eCommerce vendors offer localised eCommerce models, or they will lose out to options that better serve consumer appetites.
Marketplace Model Critical to Cross-border Growth
The research found the marketplace model, where large vendors, such as Amazon or Wish.com, sell goods to users on behalf of cross-border vendors, will be critical to growth. This model represents an easy way to access a large audience, while ensuring accepting payments and other logistical issues are seamlessly handled.
Research co-author Nick Maynard elaborated: “The marketplace model within eCommerce takes the complexity away, meaning that cross-border merchants can provide a localised service. As such, marketplaces are an excellent way to gain immediate access to an existing user base, albeit one that can be restrictive compared with having a direct-to-consumer relationship.”
The research found that physical goods will account for over 97 per cent of cross-border eCommerce spend in 2023, with digital goods making up the remainder. It identified the maturity of cross-border export of physical goods as a business model as a major factor in this difference, as well as increasingly cost-conscious end users. The research recommends payments vendors support a wide range of local payment methods, in order to capitalise on this sizeable opportunity.
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