E-commerce Environment in the UK and China - Make the Plunge Into E-commerce in the Chinese Market!

Hi everyone, hope you are having a wonderful day today, welcome back to my channel!

I'm Yuri O, as in 'Oh my gosh, I can't believe my package still hasn't arrived!'

Today we are going to talk about

E-commerce Environment in the UK and China, and why now, more than ever, the time is right for UK brands to make the plunge into the world of E-commerce in the Chinese market.

With the pandemic forcing so much business to take place online, it should come as no surprise that retailing via online platforms has become the only way for some brands and stores to survive.

And YES, while in the UK most people will be familiar with the likes of Amazon and Jeff Bezos’ pockets overflowing with cash, average Brit may only perhaps be familiar with Alibaba and possibly Taobao over in China.

In terms of platforms, aside the juggernaut that is Taobao, there are equally huge players like JD.com and TMALL.com where you can purchase pretty much anything you can think of.

These platforms give retailers great and small unbelievable exposure along with access to some of the biggest online spenders globally, with Chinese shoppers spending over $200 billion a year!

For these shoppers purchasing via the likes of JD.com or Taobao, they can chat live with retailers to confirm everything from size, stock, and estimated delivery time, while also using screenshots to doubly confirm the product they wish to buy.

Add to that, online shoppers in China can buy pay via credit card, Alipay or even WeChat Pay, and the whole process is very much streamlined in a way that allows buyers to smoothly and almost seamlessly make purchases.

Indeed, Chinese spend an estimated $650 billion worth of goods using local bank transfer Apps, e-wallets and even cash-on-delivery payment methods.

Aside the overall convenience for shoppers, E-commerce retailers in China benefit annually from shoppers spending over $100 billion on just clothes! ….And while I don't spend millions, I do contribute with own purchases haha…

That number of sales is higher than the entire UK fashion industry to give you an idea of scale! Perhaps a key difference is the number of sales events that bring in big spending in short times differs from the UK to China.

In the UK, for example most retailers expect to make big money around the Summer Sales, Black Friday and Christmas period, but in China there are sales events each month, and throughout the year!

In the past, it's fair to say that Chinese-made products were widely viewed as being of low quality or often fake goods. And though it would be naive to suggest all products are excellent quality, there have been massive improvements in the quality of online offerings nowadays in China, largely due to the fact that buyers have an instant opportunity to review and slam products.

But perhaps, most importantly, platforms have strengthened and improved upon security, while also ensuring that retailers provide significant information regarding the business in order to be present on the platform.

As a result, there is a large range of quality and prices available, but equally there is clarity and people can be more assured of what they are getting for in terms of cost vs. quality.

Add to that, the majority of online shops offer free refunds or returns and exchanges and the process is very straight forward as well as very fast, meaning for example a wrong-sized piece of clothing can be returned and another sent out and delivered all within 48hrs in some cases!

Which leads me my final point and that is delivery!

If you're like me, the second you have completed an online purchase, you are then eagerly waiting for that parcel to arrive!

In the UK, delivery times can be quick, but often require additional payment for express deliveries. What helps both retailers and shoppers over in China is that with a crazy number of couriers on the ground at any time, deliveries within the same city can often be either within 24 hours or the following morning for as little as £1 or free as it is included in the price of the product.

For shipping to other cities, you can still get deliveries in 2-3 days. Again, one might say that UK has the same services, but typically the amount required to obtain free delivery is far higher. In some cases, on Chinese platforms, you can spend as little as £2 (!) and delivery is included!

So, while many brands and shops in the UK and Europe are struggling at the moment, and we hope that the recovery from the effects of the coronavirus will be swift, it is worth exploring just how crazy an amount of business is done online in China and how much money is spent annually!

That's it for today, please do leave a comment to share your thoughts on this, or indeed if you have had experiences of e-commerce in both the UK and China, what do you think are the main advantages or differences?

Take care my friends, have a wonderful day, and I will see you soon!

Yuri O x