Amazon Cross-Border Summit Reopens in Shenzhen

Amazon Cross-Border Summit Reopens in Shenzhen

New Opportunities for 150,000 Shenzhen Sellers After Nearly 4 Years

After a hiatus of nearly four years, the **Amazon Global Selling Cross-Border Summit** has reopened in Shenzhen. Held from December 12-15, 2023, at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, this event marks a significant milestone in the cross-border e-commerce industry.

Shenzhen: The Base Camp of China’s Cross-Border E-commerce

Shenzhen, known as the “base camp” of China’s cross-border e-commerce, hosts over 150,000 cross-border e-commerce sellers. These sellers account for about half of China’s presence on platforms like Alibaba International Station, AliExpress, and eBay. Additionally, one-third of Amazon’s Chinese sellers are based in Shenzhen.

Unlike typical exhibitions, the **Amazon Cross-Border Summit** designated most of its exhibition area as a forum space. This setup allowed sellers, cross-border payment providers, and other ecosystem players to share information through keynote speeches and roundtable discussions. Over four days, guest speakers accumulated over 30 hours of speaking time.

Industry insiders note that rather than direct order signing, most cross-border e-commerce participants at the summit aimed to obtain crucial information, breaking out of the “information cocoon” to drive more orders.

Shenzhen Maintains Leading Position

Data from the General Administration of Customs in October show that in the first three quarters of this year, China’s cross-border e-commerce import and export volume reached 1.7 trillion yuan, an increase of 14.4%. Exports accounted for 1.3 trillion yuan (up 17.7%), while imports reached 0.4 trillion yuan (up 5.3%). This year’s total import and export volume for the first three quarters has already reached 80% of last year’s total (2.11 trillion yuan), with a growth rate increase of 4.6 percentage points from last year.

In the past year, the number of Chinese sellers on Amazon with sales exceeding $1 million increased by more than 25%, while those with sales over $10 million grew by nearly 30%. The quantity of goods sold by Chinese sellers to consumers and businesses through Amazon’s global sites rose by over 20%.

The industry often says, “For cross-border e-commerce in China, look at South China; for South China, look at Shenzhen.” Data show that one-third of Amazon’s third-party Chinese sellers are concentrated in Shenzhen. From January to October this year, Shenzhen’s cross-border e-commerce import and export volume exceeded 200 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 76.48%, solidifying its national leading position.

Since late April 2021, Chinese sellers faced a wave of account suspensions on Amazon, affecting over 600 Chinese brands and 3,000 seller accounts. However, this year’s data indicate a new growth phase for Chinese sellers after overcoming the 2021 suspension wave.

Three Years: A Critical Period for E-commerce Survival

“In the competitive overseas market, safety and compliance remain the primary issues for cross-border e-commerce,” said Qin Tong, General Manager of Sales for Greater China at Payoneer. Previously, Amazon cited reasons like manipulating reviews, fake orders, and violating account associations for suspending accounts.

**Payoneer**, a leading fintech company, entered China in 2015 and operates offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, serving cross-border B2C export e-commerce sellers and new foreign trade businesses.

Besides safety and compliance, another major factor for Chinese cross-border e-commerce sellers is the difficulty in receiving timely market feedback.

“From cross-border payment data, three years is critical for a cross-border e-commerce seller’s success. Typically, sales spike in the first year, costs crush them in the second year, and if revenue strategies are not adjusted correctly in the third year, they exit the market,” said Qin Tong. Shenzhen sellers, with flexible thinking and a rich supply chain, can adjust through continuous product selection optimization. However, this is especially challenging in regions without such mature supply chains.

Chen Shu, General Manager of Marketing for Greater China at Payoneer, noted that many new stores experience a significant decline within three months, with nearly half of novice sellers giving up within six months. Some sellers are unaware of the rules and have their accounts suspended for violations. “Many rush in with high hopes but retreat quickly due to a lack of market information,” Chen Shu said.

Chinese E-commerce Giants Gaining Momentum

Amazon faces new threats from Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms like Shein, which plans to go public in the U.S. next year, Pinduoduo’s overseas version Temu, launched last year, and TikTok. These platforms reduce sellers’ operating and advertising costs through full-service models in exchange for pricing power, achieving extremely low prices through subsidy strategies to capture market share.

Searches on these platforms reveal extremely low prices, providing consumers with more choices. Temu is now the fourth most visited retail website in the U.S., following Amazon, Walmart, and eBay.

Mobile analytics company GWS reports that from April to July this year, Amazon’s U.S. site saw daily active users drop from 54 million to 46 million, impacted by these competitors.

In response to these challenges, Amazon has announced that starting January next year, it will reduce the commission rate for clothing products priced under $15 to 5%, and for those priced between $15 and $20 to 10%. Previously, the commission rate for both categories was 17%.

“Amazon’s reduction of service fees/commissions for certain categories is a significant change,” said Qin Tong. “The cross-border e-commerce industry needs opportunities to boost confidence and support growth, establishing a healthy ecosystem to allow Chinese sellers to ‘sweep the globe’ through capital and product spillover.”

Conclusion

The reopening of the Amazon Global Selling Cross-Border Summit in Shenzhen heralds new opportunities for the cross-border e-commerce sector. With Shenzhen maintaining its leading position and Amazon implementing strategic changes, the future looks promising for Chinese sellers.