A must-read for cross-border merchants! Tmall Global’s deposit is “unsealed” for the first time

On July 29, Tmall Global released three new merchant service initiatives to help overseas brands enter the Chinese market at a lower cost and higher efficiency. The three services include making merchant deposits available, opening a fast entry channel for new merchants, and setting up a merchant entry service center.

Under the global epidemic, import consumption has accelerated online. As the first market to recover from the epidemic, China has attracted overseas merchants to accelerate their entry into Tmall Global to seek new growth. This time, Tmall Global’s deposit was “unsealed” for the first time, with the aim of alleviating the tightness of cross-border merchants’ operating funds.

The security deposit is a fee that merchants are required to pay when they enter the e-commerce platform. It is used as liquidated damages to compensate consumers when merchants violate regulations to ensure consumers' after-sales experience. Tmall Global announced that from August 1 to November 15, merchants on the platform will be allowed to apply for temporary use of security deposits, with a maximum amount of up to 50% , which can be used for marketing, logistics and other expenses after release.

"As long as the merchant's credit and business conditions meet the requirements, half of the deposit can be advanced, which is equivalent to providing the merchant with a working capital of more than 100 days without interest." The relevant person in charge of Tmall International Commodity Center said that since August, cross-border merchants have entered the preparation state for Double 11, new merchants have accelerated their entry, and the stocking of overseas to domestic bonded warehouses has started one after another. The "unblocking" of the deposit can ease the cash flow pressure of stocking before the big promotion.

At the same time, in order to help new merchants speed up store opening, Tmall Global has also opened a fast entry channel and set up an exclusive merchant entry service center.

New merchants can enter the green channel for qualification review. The exclusive store manager will complete the review within 1 working day, and some qualifications can be supplemented within the extended specified time. The time limit for opening a store has been shortened from 30 days to 15 days. At the same time, the exclusive service center for new merchants not only provides one-on-one store opening guidance from cross-border business experts, but also provides all-round answers to merchants' questions about entry, qualifications, payment, logistics, and stocking through exclusive live courses and online lectures.

Since the beginning of this year, Tmall Global has launched a series of measures for overseas merchants to reduce their operating costs and improve their operating efficiency. Starting from January, Tmall Global has fully opened up to investment, with four new entry channels and launched a "hosted" service, creating a set of overall service solutions for new overseas brands from entry, store opening to operation incubation; the threshold for overseas stores has been reduced from more than 20 offline stores to 5; the logistics side can enjoy a 50% discount on the first leg this year, and overseas warehouse and central warehouse stocking fee reductions and other benefits.

Since Alibaba set a five-year, $200 billion import plan at the first CIIE in 2018, Tmall Global has optimized merchant services and accelerated the entry of overseas brands into China. In the past year, an average of more than 400 new overseas brands have settled in each month. In the first quarter of 2021, the number of new brands has increased by 63% year-on-year. So far, more than 29,000 overseas brands from 87 countries and regions have settled in Tmall Global, covering more than 5,800 categories, of which more than 80% are entering China for the first time.

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