Cross-border e-commerce platforms, which now have become the only channel for many domestic consumers who want to buy overseas products, have become indispensable for foreign brands who want to keep onboard their Chinese consumers. The cross-border business-to-consumer (B2C) marketplace under Alibaba Group – one of the most popular platforms in China – had more than 29,000 brands across 5,800 categories at the end of December 2020, over 80% of them entering China for the first time. Brands, particularly small- and medium-sized players that have been hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, are trying their best to enter new markets and find fresh channels for growth, according to the platform.

Apart from Tmall, another leading platform, JD Worldwide, also previously said it has helped 270 new foreign brands to further expand sales channel in China in the first half of 2020 to meet the increasing consumption demand. The “foreign brands festival” has attracted an increasing number of Chinese consumers to purchase online. Over the past year, China’s cross-border e-commerce imports and exports increased by 31.1% year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs. Figures have further improved from the first half of 2020, when trade volumes via cross-border e-commerce platforms increased by 26.2% year-on-year, with exports and imports up by 28.7% and 24.4%, respectively. 

“Under the weight of the pandemic, cross-border e-commerce has gone from strength to strength,” Customs Spokesman Li Kuiwen, said. Chinese e-commerce platforms have also been investing heavily to provide convenience to foreign brands and shorten procedures. For instance, Tmall Global announced a new suite of solutions at the 2021 Tmall Global New Seller Virtual Summit last week, to help global brands capture growing consumption opportunities in China. “We hope to provide foreign merchants with more confidence through this virtual summit, and provide solutions for those who cannot ‘go out’ due to the pandemic,” Maggie Liu, General Manager of Tmall Global, told the Global Times. “Chinese consumers can’t travel abroad right now, but the demand is still there,” Liu added. The most popular product categories are health and beauty products, and home appliances. Overseas brands and retailers can receive tailored consultation, operations and content support as well as other value-added services through Tmall Global and its partner network worldwide. 

JD.com held online investment promotion conferences in South Korea and Singapore last year to reach local brand merchants and to help them enter the Chinese market. Chinese e-commerce platforms are also paying attention to logistics. Tmall Global has set up bonded warehouses  and arranged for chartered flights, the Global Times reports.