Another new platform is coming online! Microsoft enters cross-border e-commerce

ByteDance, Alibaba, JD.com and many other giants continue to make efforts to expand into overseas markets and launch new e-commerce platforms. This technology giant is also unwilling to lag behind, and a new cross-border e-commerce platform is about to be launched.

Microsoft's new move: cross-border e-commerce platform is about to go online

Recently, there have been reports that Microsoft is about to launch a new cross-border e-commerce platform "Buy with Microsoft". The platform is currently in the internal testing stage and is expected to be officially launched in April or May.

In response to this news, Microsoft officials stated that the project plan is underway. The launch of this platform aims to provide services to a large number of high-quality cross-border sellers, empower China's high-quality brands, products and suppliers, and help them sell their products around the world.

Buy with Microsoft is Microsoft's first e-commerce platform open to third-party sellers. The main categories of the platform currently include 3C, home furnishings, accessories, gardening tools , clothing and shoes , etc. Other common categories will be opened in the future.

It is reported that the platform is currently only open to American employees, and a small number of Chinese sellers have joined the internal test . The main products provided include clothing, 3C, home furnishings, etc.

Industry insiders pointed out that according to the current situation, the Chinese sellers who can join the internal test should be big sellers in the country, and it is a targeted invitation . The annual sales volume must be more than 1 million US dollars to be eligible for registration. For small and medium-sized sellers, they need to wait for news from the platform if they want to join.

Many giants have launched cross-border e-commerce platforms one after another. Combined with Microsoft's earlier launch of the AI-based retail solution Dynamics 365 Commerce, many industry insiders are not surprised by Microsoft's move this time, and it can even be said that it is expected.

In response to the new platform launched by Microsoft, a large number of sellers in the industry have begun to pay attention to the relevant news and latest developments, and the entry requirements have become an important part that sellers are most concerned about.

According to the official information currently disclosed, we can roughly summarize the entry requirements as follows ↓

1. The sales volume in the previous year is more than 1 million US dollars. However, this sales volume is not limited to online. For some sellers who have not yet deployed online business, they can also apply for entry with only offline business.

2. Enterprise qualifications (business license, only available in Mainland China, Hong Kong, China, or the United States).

3. Overseas entity companies or individuals with local ID cards in Hong Kong, China, the United States, etc. that can register a Stripe payment account and have an overseas physical or virtual bank account.

4. Trademark registration certificate or brand /IP authorization certificate (if it involves brand products). It should be noted here that follow-selling is not supported .

5. Product certification certificate or test report (if the design requires certification and test category) .

6. The same product is not sold at a higher price than the standard price on other platforms .

7. Logistics delivery method including delivery information .

8. High-quality products with a return rate of less than 5% for non-apparel and footwear products and less than 15% for apparel and footwear products .

Combined with the impressive data and entry requirements, sellers in the industry have already raised their expectations for the new platform that is about to be launched by this traffic giant.

With 500 million users, will the traffic giant's online e-commerce platform become a lifeline for sellers?

In this era of universal cross-border e-commerce, the competition in cross-border e-commerce exports has escalated into a visible war. Traffic giants such as ByteDance, Alibaba, and JD.com have successively launched new cross-border e-commerce platforms and vigorously deployed overseas markets. Now Microsoft is also going to launch a cross-border e-commerce platform, and many sellers are eager to try.

It is undeniable that a strong scale is certainly attractive, but according to the feedback from some sellers, some sellers are still concerned about "whether the new platform is suitable for them".

Here we take a look at Microsoft and analyze whether these new platforms are worth joining in terms of traffic, users, logistics of launching the platform Buy with Microsoft, customer service refunds, payment collection, etc.

In terms of traffic, Microsoft has a strong foundation, with its Bing shopping channel, Edge browser, MSN news channel and Windows supporting its traffic. Among them, Bing search engine, which controls 36% of the US desktop search market, is a huge traffic entrance. If sellers launch products on the new platform, they can currently enjoy free promotion on Bing shopping channel.

In addition, the number of monthly users of Microsoft's network has reached 500 million, the monthly display volume has reached 21 billion , and the monthly search volume has reached 8.5 billion. The high number of users and activeness seem to have laid the groundwork for the new platform. After sellers enter the new platform, they will inevitably rely on Microsoft's strong user base and basic traffic.

In terms of users, the quality of Microsoft users is generally high, and the proportion of male and female search users is relatively balanced. Microsoft users are generally young, among which users under 45 years old account for more than half; college graduates account for 33%, and family incomes of more than 85,000 US dollars account for 1/3 . For sellers, the huge consumer group that is young, easy to accept new things and has a certain purchasing power is undoubtedly a "fat piece of meat".

As for the logistics of the new platform, the current news is that the platform will not specify a specific logistics company for sellers. Sellers can choose the delivery mode that suits them according to their needs , but it takes 18 working days for domestic direct delivery to be completed. The platform implements a free shipping policy in the early stage , but sellers are required to provide a delivery order number and ensure that consumers can check the logistics information. Regarding returns, the platform supports returns within 30 days after delivery. Sellers upload prepaid logistics waybills and provide a return address in the United States.

As for customer service refunds, similar to Amazon, it does not support direct communication between buyers and sellers. Buyers can initiate a refund request if they are not satisfied with the product, and sellers need to confirm it in the background or contact customer service for negotiation. If there is a dispute, they can file a complaint.

In terms of payment collection, the new platform currently only supports Stripe, US/HK physical bank cards or virtual bank accounts . The loan period is mainly based on the delivery information five days before the collection date. If the delivery information is not updated , the seller is required to provide relevant delivery certificates. Generally, the payment is made on the 1st and 15th of each month .

With the support of traffic and users, and Microsoft's launch of the AI-based retail solution Dynamics 365 Commerce, which helps sellers build independent e-commerce websites, connect physical and online stores, etc., Microsoft's launch of its own e-commerce platform may be a good opportunity for many sellers.

But for sellers, when choosing a platform, they must first be clear about the platform's positioning . For example, Microsoft's new platform requires products to be cost-effective, novel, and of good quality, and emphasizes that quality is the focus of the product; secondly, they must judge market demand by analyzing the market users of Microsoft's new platform; finally, they must analyze their own personal advantages , whether they focus on products, operations, or logistics, and they need to grasp their own profit growth points.

In short, we must conduct in-depth and rational analysis of the emergence of new platforms. After all, the one that suits you is the best!

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