A 985 master's degree student also wants to switch to cross-border e-commerce!

In the first half of the year, the scale of imports and exports exceeded one trillion yuan, more than 8,000 new enterprises were added, and there were 19 brand financing events. With its own advantages and continuously released potential, cross-border e-commerce is still attracting batches of sellers.

A 985 master's degree candidate switched to cross-border e-commerce and once earned over 250,000 yuan a year

"As I get older, it will become harder and harder to try new things later on," said Xiao Wang, who graduated with a master's degree from a 985 university. Many people say that 30 is a hurdle. Although I don't think so, I cannot deny that if you want to change careers, you should do it as soon as possible.

In 2019, Xiao Wang, who graduated with a degree in environmental science and engineering, has been working in the field of environmental protection in Shenzhen. His annual income before tax can reach 250,000+. He has been working in this job for 4 years now.

Xiao Wang also had the idea of ​​changing careers. "If we want to develop better in our industry, we basically have to work in state-owned enterprises and deal with the government, but I don't like officialdom," Xiao Wang said frankly. Moreover, the ceiling of this industry is relatively low, and generally the maximum annual income is 300,000 yuan, unless you make a leap from one level to another.

"The income is not high, but it's enough to keep me going" is Xiao Wang's evaluation of the industry. "I want to find an industry with a higher degree of marketization, the kind that I can work on my own later." After meeting some entrepreneurial cross-border sellers, Xiao Wang has become more determined to change his career.

In his opinion, starting a business on Amazon is relatively free. Although the recent development is not as good as in previous years, the opportunities and dividends are still there. The platform does not allow sellers to use illegal means such as fake orders, which is more in line with his own philosophy. In the early stage, he does not seek to make money, but just wants to find an industry company to learn experience and cover the cost of food and accommodation; after 1-2 years, he will invest money to start his own business.

In his early 30s, Xiao Wang gave up his stable job and suddenly changed his career. His friends were divided on different opinions. Some suggested changing his career, while others suggested giving it a try. However, Xiao Wang still did not waver in his idea of ​​changing his career. Fortunately, his family also supported his decision.

However, after browsing some recruiting companies, Xiao Wang also found some problems. Although he has some advantages, compared with new graduates, his advantages may become disadvantages. Currently, Xiao Wang is unemployed and is learning cross-border related knowledge, but he is worried about the categories that the company he joins will focus on, the choice of entrepreneurial sites, and whether his annual salary before tax can exceed 300,000 if his business fails.

So, how is the current development of the cross-border e-commerce industry?

In the first half of 2023, there were more than 8,000 new cross-border e-commerce companies and 19 brand financings.

Compared with the fiercely competitive domestic market, cross-border e-commerce is still in a period of dividends. According to the data from the General Administration of Customs, the import and export scale of cross-border e-commerce in the first half of this year reached 1.1 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 16%. Among them, the export scale reached 821 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.9%. At the same time, the global cross-border e-commerce market is also growing continuously, and it is expected to reach 3042.2 billion US dollars in 2028.

The continuous explosion of cross-border e-commerce has also led to the emergence of more cross-border enterprises. As of now, there are more than 67,000 cross-border e-commerce enterprises in China. In the first half of 2023 alone, the number of newly registered cross-border e-commerce enterprises reached 8,380, an increase of 30% compared with the same period last year.

These cross-border e-commerce companies are mainly located in Guangdong, accounting for nearly 40%, followed by Anhui and Zhejiang. Among them, those established within 1 year account for 24%, and those established for more than 10 years account for 7.3%.

At the same time, there was a lot of good news in the financing market.

According to incomplete statistics, there were 19 brand financings in the first half of this year , covering fast fashion, consumer electronics, pets, outdoor robots, bicycles and other fields , but most brands raised less than 100 million yuan. The largest financing in the cross-border e-commerce track is still SHEIN, which received $2 billion in the latest round of financing in May, led by Sequoia Capital China.

Overseas demand is booming, and the E-bike track is still favored by capital. In the first half of the year, three emerging electric bicycle brands raised funds, including VELOTRIC, which focuses on low cost performance; Onemile, which focuses on small wheel diameter and folding bikes; and TENWAYS, a leading venture capital company. In addition, Xiaomi, DJI and other leading companies are also increasing their investment in this track.

Secondly, there are the rapidly developing robot-related enterprises. After the epidemic, the potential of the courtyard economy is being further released. These include Zhongqing Technology and Xingmai Innovation, which focus on pool cleaning robots; Purdue Technology and Town Intelligence, which focus on commercial service robots; Changyao Innovation and Novabot, which focus on lawn mowing robots; and Anyang Technology Yarbo, which focuses on courtyard robots. All of them have received capital financing.

Companies focusing on consumer electronics have also received a lot of financing, such as Baseus Technology, Diexi Technology and FreeYond. Diexi Technology mainly captures the East African market with 3C products, relying on its own supply chain to provide supporting spare parts; FreeYond sells its products to Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Central and Eastern Europe and other regions.

The Middle East and Latin America have become new gold mines for Chinese sellers

At the same time, Chinese sellers are also accelerating their layout on Amazon. As of June, nearly half of Chinese sellers on Amazon have already conducted business in two or more international sites, and other sites outside the United States have become new gold mines for Chinese sellers, especially in the Middle East and Latin America.

eMarketer predicts that the growth rate of e-commerce in the Middle East and Africa and Latin America will reach 16% and 14.3% respectively in 2023, making them the two fastest growing regions in the world. Taking Latin America as an example, the market size in 2022 will be about 170 billion US dollars, the growth rate of cross-border e-commerce will be nearly doubled, and the average customer price will be close to that of the United States. However, the current e-commerce penetration rate in the region is less than 10%, and its development space can be imagined.

"The Middle East market has growing potential. Southeast Asia's momentum is slightly weaker this year, but in the long run, the population structure and overall consumption capacity still have huge potential," pointed out an investment manager.

However, most cross-border companies choose the United States as their first stop. Amazon data shows that nearly 70% of Chinese sellers who have newly joined Amazon choose the United States as their first stop. Domestic big sellers have a relatively high market share in the United States, such as VESYNC and Xinghui Shares, which we are familiar with, and their market share in the United States exceeds 70%. The European market is the main market for big sellers such as Zhiou and Santai Shares.

Clothing and footwear, home furnishings, small appliances, and consumer electronics are the hottest areas for sellers to focus on. Most big sellers have diversified layouts and are involved in all areas, such as Saiwei Times and Zhiou Technology, while some big sellers focus on a relatively specific track, such as Zi Buyu, whose clothing products account for as much as 85%.

In the second half of 2023, the cross-border track will remain hot, and novice sellers must seize the opportunity.

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