E-commerce has grown in popularity to the point where it is now a highly sought-after business. Running a company on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and other prominent e-commerce sites fall under this category. E-commerce enterprises, such as online stores, marketplaces, and applications that offer real things for delivery, come in a variety of forms.
With the advent of new trends, technological advancement is fast strengthening the e-commerce business. Technology is increasingly revolutionizing the retail scene and consumer experience, in addition to traditional logistics, shipment tracking, and warehouse advances.
Do you know which country in the whole world leads the e-commerce industries? How this country could be able to dominate this trendy business? What are the value additions that the country yields to create its own pattern?
Fastest Growing eCommerce Countries: An Overview
China is the country that alone controls 45% of the total e-commerce activities around the world. The digital economy created by China itself has witnessed holistic development over the last 10-12 years.
E-commerce is increasing at a rate of 16 percent each year in Europe. The average annual growth rate in the markets covered by this research is 33%. Even that pales in comparison to the rapidly developing market, which is rising at a pace of 78 percent every year.
The volume of the internet market and the rate of expansion in the world’s emerging countries can be difficult to fathom for Westerners who are used to established economies and single-digit growth rates in most economic measures.
There are successful local traders and marketplaces in several of these markets. However, there remains a need for global consumer brands among young and more wealthy populations. And in markets that are developing so fast, there is potential for a variety of participants.
This, however, will not last permanently. Merchants that want to prosper in these areas must first establish a presence and try to earn consumer trust and familiarity. Wages in certain places and businesses in China are already approaching European levels. Vietnam and other markets will be where China is now in 10 years.
However, many of these markets’ buying patterns and consumer loyalty will have been established by then. Newcomers will have a more difficult time establishing themselves. Or risk missing out on future development, now is the moment to expand into the world’s fastest-growing e-commerce areas.
The top high-growth markets are examined in depth in this paper. Recent economic performance, the health of the online marketplace, e-commerce growth factors, and local payment preferences are all examined. This guide is for you if you’re not sure where you should expand next. It will not only provide you with an idea of where to target, but it will also provide you with the necessary knowledge to succeed in your selected areas.
For cross-border e-commerce, these are exciting times. We wish you the best of luck in your next cross-border business. China accounts for 40% of all global e-commerce sales. The Chinese e-commerce market is still growing at a 27 percent annual rate.
Consider this: China currently accounts for 40% of all global e-commerce sales. And the Chinese e-commerce market is still expanding at a 27 percent annual rate.
How did they do this to beat the whole world in this industry?
What does the future hold for e-commerce?
The number of customers is increasing quickly as more people use the internet to purchase. E-commerce retail sales are expected to climb from 14.1 percent to 22.5 percent by 2023, thanks to a global surge in online buying.
The figures for mobile shopping are equally important as the fastest growing ecommerce countries. According to market research, 49 percent of consumers exclusively use their mobile phones, and 67 percent of users like window shopping for pleasure. This trend is projected to last for years, thus optimizing e-commerce businesses for mobile compatibility is another must-follow trend.
A case study on the tastest Growing eCommerce Countries
China is the country that alone controls 45% of the total e-commerce activities around the world. The digital economy created by China itself has witnessed holistic development over the last 10-12 years. How did they do this to beat the whole world in this industry?
China’s market share
It’s a fact that China with its existence in less than one percent of the world e-commerce industry only 10 years back, now dominates its market share by up to 42%. The United States, on the other hand, grabs its market share by up to 24%, it is a sheer downtrend from 35% that was in 2005.
Currently, China has been such a giant in the e-commerce industry that it deals with yearly more transactions compared to Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States altogether.
Why & How
The huge market with numerous product innovations and the demand of customers from all walks of life have intensified the growth of e-commerce drastically in China.
McKinsey Global Institute thoughtfully calculated the digital economy of China and reported on the range, scope, opportunities, and degree of continuous digitization process for transition and value proposition based on technological abundance.
The e-commerce industry’s evolution
The e-commerce sector has existed for many years. E-commerce dates back to the early 1970s when the first e-commerce transaction was conducted through a pre-internet computer network.
The e-commerce business has had significant expansion in the previous 50 years, with the number of websites providing goods or services continually expanding. In 2020, more than 2 billion consumers are expected to utilize e-commerce facilities to make online purchases, according to statistics.
Last year, almost 70% of purchases were made using mobile applications, according to the same source, with customers in Asia using smartphones for the majority of their online transactions. The growth of e-commerce companies has always been upward and is projected to continue in the next years.
Related: Is your business idea as innovative as a blue ocean strategy?
Top trends in e-commerce
In recent years, the digital marketing business has been a significant contributor to e-commerce. Digital marketing platforms like Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, and Instagram Ads have made it possible for businesses to target customers more effectively and expand their businesses faster than ever before. The manner in which e-commerce is performed is evolving as it grows more widespread.
The e-commerce sector is always changing, with new technology and ideas appearing on a daily basis as per the trend of fastest-growing ecommerce countries. This technological breakthrough has been and continues to be a game-changer for the e-commerce business. Emerging e-commerce trends are predicted to have a significant influence on online enterprises.
1. Payments flexibility
The high ratio of mobile users in China has further motivated its users to easily access the E-commerce industry wherever and whenever they need it. Available high-speed mobile internet has greatly dominated mobile payments.
Users of mobile internet increased more than double in only 3 years to 68% (2016) from 25% (2013). On average, China’s 731 million of 1.4 billion inhabitants use the internet on a regular basis.
As per the report, consumption-based mobile payments in China were $790 billion (2016), which alone was more than 11 times that of the United States where 262 million people regularly use mobile internet.
2. Online shops’ AI helpers
Artificial intelligence is one of the most significant e-commerce trends (AI). Online businesses may use AI to better understand their customers’ buying habits based on their online transactions.
By providing chatbot capabilities and anticipating customer purchase behaviors, AI assistants have revolutionized the way the e-commerce business functions.
This function allows online marketers to examine customer evaluations and comments and deliver tailored offers for their shopping cart. These offers may be produced based on their regular purchases and may include discounts or product suggestions.
With AI, online shops may provide virtual chatbots and assistants to clients 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Customers like the convenience of these automated solutions, which has resulted in greater client retention and sales.
AI assistants can help e-commerce organizations manage their stocks as well as boost consumer happiness. AI can forecast potential sales, shifts in product demand, and the quantity of inventory that will be kept.
3. Startups
Moreover, one-third of the globe’s 262 proprietorship startups worth more than $1 billion, which are also dubbed ‘unicorns’, are Chinese entrepreneurs. They dominate 43% of the global value of these business ventures.
4. Enhanced virtual experience or augmented reality
The goal of augmented reality (AR) is to close the gap between customers and sensory product experiences. Because customers cannot touch or feel things when shopping online, augmented reality assists them in obtaining contextualized information about their choices.
This tool allows customers to acquire more in-depth and extensive information about anything. Online shops may use AR to assist customers make educated decisions by allowing them to virtually try on things before purchasing them. Uses interactive user guides to assist customers in determining how the product will operate for them.
With the introduction of AR, e-commerce has seen an increase in customer involvement. Retailers have been able to better keep their consumers as a result of increased consumer satisfaction.
5. Venture capital
It is also significant that China’s venture capital industries have increased by 19% (2016) in just two years of time span. It turned to $77 billion in 2014-2016 from $12 billion between 2011-2013 respectively.
Companies that deal with digital technologies such as big data, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and fintech ventures are very attractive to venture capitalists in great numbers.
6. Internet giants
China’s three largest internet giants: Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent invested 42% of China’s total investment in the e-commerce industry.
Moreover, these three giants successfully bid on 35 international deals during the last couple of years. It is compared to 20 afforded by the top three internet organizations in the entire United States during that time.
7. Smart buying with voice-activated shopping
In the e-commerce business, voice search is a key technological advancement. Virtual assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Google Voice Search, and others have benefitted the e-commerce business by improving user experiences on e-commerce websites and applications.
Because it provides customers with a personalized purchasing experience, voice-activated shopping has become a popular innovative addition. It’s also simple to use for customers who aren’t tech-savvy enough to purchase via a company’s website.
Furthermore, in our fast-paced environment, the time efficiency provided by this function has been a blessing in all fastest growing ecommerce countries.
8. Growth comparison
Based on these catalysts which are convenient for digital products and services, China gains a yearly surplus worth $15 billion from $10 billion during the past five years of the rapid growth of e-commerce.
In 2013, the United States experienced around five times more digitization than China. However, the gap is found significantly minimized in the next three years. US dominance in digitization had decreased to 3.7% (2016) compared to China.
9. Blockchain made bitcoin transactions easier
In this digital age, cryptocurrency is generating a lot of hype. Having a blockchain-based e-commerce firm can assist online businesses in capitalizing on cryptocurrency holders.
Blockchains are digital ledgers that allow for the safe and secure payment and storage of cryptocurrencies. Customers may make purchases on websites and pay using bitcoins. Because blockchains are recognized for ensuring safe and secure financial transactions, having a blockchain-based online business improves the whole customer experience.
Blockchain also unifies all financial procedures into a single application, saving firms a lot of money on upkeep. One of the most significant advantages of a blockchain is the ability to communicate with consumers all over the world without any limitations.
10. Future prediction
Therefore, it is predicted that China’s e-commerce industries will be experiencing significant transformation in revenue generation and profit bases synergized by the digital forces.
The report predicts that, by 2030, economic disruption and industrial digitization in China might be shifting and improvising a value equivalent to 10% to 45% of the revenue bases. Every possible consumer goods and retail industry, including, automotive and mobility, electronics, healthcare, biotechnology, freight, agronomy, and logistics industries will experience this upheaval.
As per the source, the three ‘digital forces’ named, disintermediation, disaggregation, and dematerialization – are anticipated to transform value from sluggish incumbents to more nimble ventures, and from one segment of the value chain to another by rotation.
Related: Future growth of e-commerce marketplace trends by 2030
Giant and traditional business ventures might face the challenge to generate substantial amounts of profit if they lost to new products, innovative services, and creative business models from companies where the digital boom is properly nurtured. The best way to keep the growth moving, adapt to technology, innovation, and change will be the vital determinants.
11. Easy online buying with mobile applications and wallets
Everything a customer needs nowadays is at the tip of their fingers, thanks to cellphones that have become ubiquitous in our lives. Another technical development in the e-commerce sector is the use of mobile applications to keep in touch with customers in the fastest growing ecommerce countries.
A user-friendly application makes it easier for customers to find items and purchase them. E-wallets, or mobile wallets, have made internet payments simple and quick.
According to BusinessWire, by 2023, mobile wallets would have captured 52 percent of the market share as the preferred way of payment. This expansion coincides with an increase in mobile shopping usage among customers. As a result, offering clients e-wallet choices are becoming increasingly popular in the e-commerce industry.
Aside from their popularity, e-wallets are believed to increase sales since clients are less likely to encounter problems during the checkout process because their payment information is safely saved in the e-wallet. The e-commerce business is benefiting from both mobile applications and e-wallets.
12. Business solution approaches
By keeping its practical experiences and case studies on multinational companies in mind, McKinsey recommends six approaches that businesses in China should focus on as the country is continuously being digitized in the fastest growing ecommerce countries. These are-
- “Adopt bold strategies” means business ventures taking all-out preparations to disrupt their own business models that enable them to increase the foundation of their loyal customers.
- “Use the power of China’s vast digital ecosystem” refers to business ventures to assess the benefits of collaboration with giant digital platforms and internet greats of China.
- “Maximize value from analytics by using China’s data pools” means developing the business imperative for aggregating and assessing data and information, that enables a competitive advantage for business ventures.
- “Build an agile organization for digital transformation” indicates indulging companies as less hierarchical and converting them into smaller units.
- “Digitize operations based on a solid transformation program” means digital technologies are holistically shifting the economic base where some Chinese business ventures are at the hibernation stage.
- “Engage with China’s policy and regulation” refers to the government which is making it transparent that the digitized economy is top attention.
Take away
Leading businesspersons, as well as the government authorities, are on the holistic move to digitization. You should monitor the trends of the fastest growing global eCommerce trends.
In recent years, e-commerce has grown in importance, and with technological advancements, it has become more accessible to customers. It has been continually developing as new technologies, like as artificial intelligence and 3D printing, have become more widely employed.
Return Management Software and Marketing Automation are allowing more people to shop and discover new items that they would not have had access to before.
It will make it easier for businesses and consumers to obtain innovative goods and services more quickly. AI tools will be able to help businesses enhance their sales, marketing, and customer service operations in the future in the fastest growing ecommerce countries.
When these priorities will be fulfilled, the report predicts that China would be able to secure the driving seat to overcome cross-border issues like obstacles to international challenges, no competition, innovation, digital independence, and uniqueness in the future. It is a tremendous example for other nations who are willing to lead.
Related: 10 ways to make global e-commerce easier for everyone
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