China is the biggest e-commerce market in the world. With annual online sales of around $672 billion it is almost twice by value of the US, the second biggest market. It’s also the fastest growing too with an annual growth rate of 35%[1].

At the heart of China’s extraordinary online growth is the all-conquering Alibaba group who run both the country’s leading e-commerce platforms, Taobao and Tmall, and JD.com. Alibaba is probably best known to UK sellers in particular as the powerful search engine that helps them to source Chinese suppliers and producers of anything and everything.

Such is the size and popularity of the Alibaba and JD.com platforms in China that it is estimated that Amazon holds only around a 1.3% market share – and it’s falling too.

How WorldFirst helps sellers using marketplaces in China

The good news for UK based sellers is that the ‘Made in Britain’ brand is popular in China and with Chinese consumers. So, for those who decide to broaden their list of overseas territories, WorldFirst’s local CNY receiving accounts make it faster, cheaper and easier to bring home sales revenues earned in the east.

Faster – local currency receiving accounts
International receiving accounts in CNY opened quickly and for free.

Cheaper – great exchange rates
Great exchange rates when transferring JPY or CNY back to your home bank account

Easier – outstanding customer service as standard
Not only does WorldFirst make it easier to open CNY accounts, but you’ll also benefit from round the clock support from our team of experts who will be with you every step of the way.

Why sell on marketplaces in China?

Quite simply, China is the world’s biggest – and fastest growing – e-commerce market in the world. In 2017, Statista, the stats portal, estimated that retail e-commerce in China was worth $1.2 trillion US dollars, more than the next 9 countries on the list combined. And, with a population of 1.3 billion and internet penetration at 53% and rising, China seems to hold untold opportunity for marketplace sellers.

It has not, however, always been an easy market to crack for global online sellers but things are changing. Here are three reasons why China could just be your best next market:

Marketplaces are incredibly popular with Chinese consumers. In fact, 85% of online sales in China take place on marketplace platforms and better still, three-quarters of Chinese online sellers have made a cross-border purchase.

Two of the biggest marketplace platforms in China are Tmall Global and Taobao, both of which are operated by the Alibaba Group – Tmall is said to own 57% of all retail e-commerce transactions in the country. In 2016, brands from over 60 countries were selling on the Tmall platform.

The two most popular categories on marketplaces for Chinese consumers are fashion and personal care. As in Japan, western brands are popular with Chinese younger, affluent consumers who seek out recognised, established brands as well as ‘heritage’ brands that trade on the ‘made in Britain’ tag, for example.

So, what are you waiting for?

To get going today, register with WorldFirst here or call 020 7801 1068.

[1] https://www.business.com/articles/10-of-the-largest-ecommerce-markets-in-the-world-b/

To the comments, Author: Matt James e64c42cdda509545a9ee0aefaca45a8f (74.125.76.32) To the comments, Author: Matt James

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