In recent years, technology has enabled eCommerce retailers and manufacturers to reach customers across borders. However, there are various challenges that need to be tackled in order to flourish at cross-border trade. If you are thinking cross-border, few questions are natural to arise: Will I benefit from cross-border eCommerce? Would my products actually sell across borders? How to overcome logistic challenges in cross-border eCommerce? This white paper gives you in-depth insights into all of these and much more. Also, explore how technology is the solution to enhance and navigate endless possibilities through cross-border eCommerce.

1. DECODING THE
CROSS-BORDER
ECOMMERCE
PUZZLE

2. Cross-border trade is by no means
new. History is replete with examples
of ancient civilizations indulging in
high-value, inter-continental trade by
land and sea. But, technology
enabled eCommerce has given an
unprecedented push to cross-border
trade in recent years.
2

3. 3
Decoding the
Cross–Border Puzzle
In the last decade or so alone, eCommerce has
completely transformed the way people buy stuff.
Every day, millions of purchases are made online
and a humongous number of products are
delivered to end customers across the globe.
Going a step further, technology has made it
possible for consumers to buy products from
foreign retailers and manufacturers. What earlier
used to be majorly a B2B affair, now due to
eCommerce, has quietly enveloped the B2C
segment too. And because of a variety of reasons,
consumers are slowly but steadily getting inclined
to the idea of buying products online from foreign
retailers and manufacturers.
As for retailers and manufacturers, cross-
border selling can become the Achilles’ heel in
their eCommerce ventures. While local
eCommerce in most countries is facilitated by
home infrastructure, logistics, and laws, it’s the
cross-border trade that can suffer because of
many debilitating factors. Let us take a look at
what cross-border entails for consumers,
retailers, and manufacturers; the potential
opportunities it offers; challenges that need to
be tackled, and finally a viable and workable
solution for it to become a pleasant experience
for shoppers and a flourishing endeavor for
online sellers.
"What earlier used to be majorly a
B2B affair, now due to eCommerce,
has quietly enveloped the B2C
segment too"

4. Development Of Cross-Border eCommerce Share
2015- 2020E
Global eCommerce Market
Percent
2015
Closs-border share
Source: Alipay, McKinsey
15 100
100
USD 2,000 bn
USD 4,00-4,500 bn
-22
2020E
Is Cross–Border eCommerce
Worth the Effort? Absolutely!
A survey on cross-border trade, which is part of
the DHL Cross-Border Report , has revealed
some stunning numbers: in 2015, the cross-
border eCommerce market accounted for USD
300 billion in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV),
which was about 15% of overall eCommerce. The
report states that this is just the beginning and
the momentum will only gain speed with time. It
estimates that the cross-border market will grow
by close to 25% annually till 2020.
This is nearly twice the rate of domestic
eCommerce and a growth rate that most
traditional retail markets can only dream of
achieving. By 2020, the cross-border market is
expected to touch USD 900 billion GMV,
notching a 22% share of the global
eCommerce market.
4
DHL Cross-Border Report

5. Reference
5
This unrivalled growth rate heralds unparalleled opportunities
for retailers, manufacturers, and online marketplaces on a
global scale. With such impressive numbers, retailers should
strive to put together their plans and board the cross-border
bus as soon as possible. As the numbers suggest, cross-
border is growing and is here to stay, the reasons for its
growth assume significance too.
This is because the reasons are directly related to the growth
story. DHL’s report suggests that modern consumers from
nearly all markets are increasingly getting inclined to finding
the online seller of their choice. Consumers now do not buy
products from across the border by chance, but rather make
the choice consciously due to some basic reasons.
As per Google's Consumer Barometer:
Better product availability.
A more attractive offering, including price.
Trust in brands and online shops emerge
as important grounds.
Keeping in mind the future relevance of this rationale and
tactical implications for online sellers, product availability and
trust assume significance for creating and maintaining a
sustainable USP.
DHL Cross Border Report
Source: Alipay, McKinsey

6. There’s certainly a trend in product category choices of
consumers in cross-border eCommerce. Fashion and
electronics lead in consumer choice and are followed by
beauty and cosmetics, pet care, food and beverage, and
sporting goods. This shows that growth opportunities
exist for sellers of all categories and multi-category
sellers are set to profit more on account of a wide
portfolio, leading to more orders.
6
What Sells More;
What Sells Less?

7. 7
7
Who can Benefit most
from Cross-Border
eCommerce?
Until a few years ago, online selling was
restricted to entities with deep pockets.
Now, selling online is no longer a territory
of a selected class of eCommerce
enterprises. Existing technology enables
even smaller online sellers and brick-and-
mortar businesses to go global and sell
across the border seamlessly.
Opportunities exist for every class of
online sellers, irrespective of scale and
catalogue strength.

8. Challenges in Cross
Border eCommerce
For online sellers, foreign laws and regulations pose a
certain degree of challenge. Countries have unique
guidelines for cross-border eCommerce vis-à-vis types of
products, consumer rights protection, labeling and
discounting, and taxation. Businesses shy away from cross-
border eCommerce considering the complexity, effort, and
time involved in resolving these regulatory issues.
8
Challenges in cross-border trade are, in part, closely linked
with consumer aspirations. As seen earlier, consumers
started preferring buying from foreign, online sellers for
some reasons. In the same vein, there are a few compelling
reasons owing to which consumers may shy away from
indulging in cross-border shopping.
The most nagging issues faced by roughly all categories of
online sellers, including marketplaces, brands, and small
sellers are more or less similar. While strong and established
players have some degree of advantage, all’s not lost for
other players too. But, a deeper understanding of these
issues on part of these businesses is crucial to circumnavigate
them and stay relevant in the eyes of the consumer. Here are
a few important issues, among many others, that plague
cross-border trade.

9. Pricing and
Payment Methods
A good percentage of consumers feel that buying
from foreign online sellers is either expensive or
there’s no clarity on the final price that they have
to pay. While providing a competitive price may
not be always possible, maintaining transparency
about pricing can go a long way in winning
consumer confidence.
Sellers need to inform cross-border buyers
about the final landing cost of a product —
including product cost, shipping, and duties
and taxes — well beforehand. Sellers also need
to provide options to consumers vis-à-vis
payment methods and have widely accepted
modes ready with them. Ultimately, it’s all
about making the experience of buying online
from a foreign entity convenient and
pleasurable for consumers.
Logistics and
Returns Logistics
Concerns related to time required for product
delivery and ease of returns logistics weigh heavy
on consumers’ mind. While logistics is the most
essential aspect of eCommerce, it has now
become the real differentiator owing to changing
consumer aspirations, who want better quality
products delivered to them in the least possible
amount of time.
9

10. 10
Solutions to Enhance
Cross-Border eCommerce
Cross-border eCommerce players have
technology to thank for, for alleviation of a
majority of their woes. A few cutting-edge SaaS
products offer services that take care of all pain
points, including the ones mentioned here, and
enable sellers to conduct their cross-border
trade and serve customers seamlessly.
Such multi-marketplace selling product offerings
provide sellers quick integrations with
marketplaces and 3PL players, local and cross-
border warehousing, last-mile delivery and
returns management, best-in-class SLAs, full
visibility and data analytics, pricing management,
and international payment methods too. With
the help of these innovative solutions, online
sellers of all sizes and scales can now sell across
borders and fulfill orders seamlessly!

11. www.anchanto.com
Singapore
business@anchanto.com
Call: +65 - 6914 9652
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#17-01 038985 Singapore
business.id@anchanto.com
Call: +62 - 81988 8489
Revenue Tower (26-120),Daerah Khusus,
Ibukota Jakarta, 12190 Indonesia
Indonesia
Malaysia
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Sales: +60 - 16501 7626
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Ismail, Kuala Lumpur 50250 Malaysia
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Call: +63 - 2271 1376
30F, RCBC Plaza, 6819 Ayala Ave, Makati Metro
Manila Makati City 1200 Philippines
Philippines
Australia
business.au@anchanto.com
Call: +61 - 24211 0047
Level 16/175 Pitt Street, Sydney
NSW 2000 Australia
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Call +82 - 70 - 4278 5321
#402, 11, Teheran-ro 7-gil, Gangnam-gu
06134 Seoul, Republic of Korea
Korea
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