The first billion-dollar seller is born! The rise of new markets helps sellers achieve "surge" in sales

According to data from the Brazilian E-Commerce Association ABComm, total e-commerce sales in Brazil reached 169.6 billion reais ( about 222.5 billion yuan) last year , consumers placed 368.7 million orders, and the average spending of each buyer was 460 reais.

The rapid development of e-commerce in Brazil has quickly attracted giants such as Amazon, Shopee, and AliExpress, and Chinese cross-border e-commerce sellers have also flocked to the market.

E-commerce boom: Brazilians flock to international websites

In 2020, 71% of the nearly 90 million Brazilian e-shoppers made a purchase on an international site, up from 58% the year before.

The explosion of e-commerce in Brazil has delighted platforms and sellers who are eager to find new markets. After 2020, Shopee and SHEIN also began to lay out this emerging market. They have invested heavily in traditional and digital media to influence more Brazilian consumers. In 2022, SHEIN's revenue in Brazil was 8 billion reais (about 10.8 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 300%.

On cross-border e-commerce platforms, electronics, fashion and accessories, IT and home furnishings and decorations are particularly popular among local consumers. In terms of shopping habits, novelty and products that are not easy to find in the local market can arouse their desire to buy.

As an important part of cross-border e-commerce, logistics business plays an irreplaceable role in the entire cross-border e-commerce operation. It is precisely because of the existence of cross-border logistics service providers that Chinese sellers' products can be efficiently and safely delivered from China across the vast Atlantic Ocean to Brazilians.

Anjun Logistics has been an important bridge for communication between Chinese cross-border e-commerce sellers and Brazilian consumers for many years. As one of the earliest pioneers of China's cross-border e-commerce direct mail dedicated logistics products, Anjun signed a bilateral agreement with Brazil Post as early as 2019 to provide sellers with small package dedicated line services from China to Brazil.

Among them, Anjun is responsible for the delivery from China to Brazil, and the local final delivery is handled by Brazil Post. After the cooperation was reached, the overall delivery time from China to Brazil was greatly improved from the original 30 to 90 days to 9 to 18 days.

The improvement in timeliness has brought a better shopping experience to local consumers, further promoting more purchasing actions. At the same time, consumers buy a richer variety of products, and the prices of online shopping have also been improved simultaneously.

For Brazil’s dedicated small parcel business on the market, the final delivery is handled by Brazil Post, and the improvement in efficiency is mainly due to Anjun’s customs clearance capabilities.

The first step to enter is to go through customs inspection

Jerry Chang, head of Anjun's overseas business department , told Ennet that their cargo inspection rate is 0.3% to 0.4% .

It has currently established a green channel with the Brazilian Customs, so the probability of shipments being detained is extremely low. In addition, if shipments are inspected, its local employees will follow up and assist merchants with relevant processing procedures, the information that needs to be provided, and how to pay, etc.

Generally speaking, the shipment can be released within three working days and enter the final delivery process.

When goods are sold to overseas markets, customs clearance is often the first challenge faced by sellers and logistics companies. Jerry said that Brazil has one of the strictest customs in the world , so both B2B and B2C customs clearance will face some pain points.

For B2B companies, Brazil is a country with high tax rates. If customs clearance is carried out in a formal manner, all taxes added together will account for about 80% to 100% of the total freight and value of goods, or even higher. In Europe and the United States, many foreign trade companies have established their own overseas warehouses, but this is difficult to achieve in Brazil.

In addition, Brazil has very strict import requirements for most products such as food, 3C electronic products, and skin care products. Therefore, if these products want to enter Brazil, they must obtain relevant certification in advance, and provide the customs code to the local customs broker in advance to inquire about what information needs to be provided, and then provide the information in advance to avoid being detained by customs.

For B2C sellers, the problem is comprehensive tax. B2C sellers have a tax-free allowance of US$50 in Brazil. If the declared value exceeds this, a comprehensive tax of 60% will be charged. In many cases, Brazilian buyers either do not want to pay this fee or do not know how to pay the post office and what procedures to follow.

In addition, Brazil stipulates that goods weighing more than 3 kilograms must pay a 60% comprehensive tax, so B2C has another problem. If a package is large and heavy, but the declared value is only $1, it will be considered as under-declared by the customs and then detained for inspection. "If we find such a package, we will remind the seller not to pack it like this and provide some methods to split the package." Jerry said.

From 2019 to date, Anjun has been working intensively in the Brazilian logistics market for four years. In order to provide better services to sellers, it has not only improved its customs clearance capabilities, but also started a localized and diversified layout. During this period, it encountered many difficulties, but also achieved good results.

Four years of intensive localization services have yielded impressive results

In Brazil, in addition to the difficulty in customs clearance, its tax system is also very complicated because Brazilian companies have two methods of calculating taxes, one is the actual profit method, and the other is the estimated profit method.

"Cross-border people who want to open a company in Brazil can first hire some tax experts to do an assessment." Jerry said that Anjun has not only established a special tax team in Brazil, but also has special teams in charge of finance, law, etc. "It is best to use local people in these teams."

However, hiring locals involves another pain point. "Trade unions in Brazil are very strong, and employees can sue the company if they feel a little aggrieved." Jerry said: "This is normal for Brazilian companies, but foreign companies like us still need time to adapt."

Currently, Anjun has 1,100 employees in Brazil, who are the basis for Anjun to handle customs clearance, taxation and other issues quickly and efficiently.

With the improvement of various business capabilities, Anjun has also achieved impressive results. In 2022, its revenue in the Latin American market will be nearly 2 billion yuan, of which 1.8 billion yuan will come from Brazil. At present, its market share in Brazil's small package dedicated line market has reached 40%.

Over the years, Anjun has been strengthening its local service capabilities, establishing ground handling companies, customs clearance companies and warehouses at the ports. In terms of final delivery, it has established multiple "Anjun huts" and cargo stations, built a 40,000 square meter overseas warehouse, and expanded various types of freight vehicles to more than 100.

Now, Anjun has gradually reached the entire supply chain of China-Brazil cross-border logistics, including domestic collection, air trunk lines and local customs clearance in Brazil, airport ground handling warehouse operations, transshipment and delivery, etc.

On April 12, Jerry Chang, head of the overseas business department of Shenzhen Anjun Logistics Co., Ltd., will deliver a keynote speech entitled "Brazil Customs Clearance Pain Points + Last-Mile Delivery, Anjun is Your Escort" at the "2023 Sixth Cross-border E-commerce Online Marketing Conference" hosted by En.net. If you want to know more business opportunities and logistics issues in Brazil, please long press the QR code on the picture below to sign up.