Google Launches First Cross-Border E-Commerce Acceleration Center
On October 15th, Google announced the official launch of its first cross-border e-commerce acceleration center in Xiamen. It is understood that the center is part of Google's cross-border e-commerce acceleration program, with the first phase of the plan expected to cover both Xiamen and Shenzhen.
After the establishment of the offline acceleration center, it will focus on three service functions: market education, ecosystem aggregation, and seller incubation. Market education will provide professional courses in collaboration with industry experts to help sellers systematically understand the DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) model. Ecosystem aggregation aims to introduce high-quality ecosystem service partners and offer exclusive discounts and services to Google customers to meet the development needs of sellers' independent sites. Seller incubation integrates Google's resources to create a one-stop solution for independent sites, supporting potential sellers to quickly launch their independent sites.
At the opening ceremony, Google's Vice President of Digital Marketing Solutions for China, Liang Cuiping, said to the Economic Observer Network that, on one hand, as the number of companies going global increases, competition in overseas markets is becoming increasingly fierce. Companies are using data and data-based analysis and insights to improve the quality of their products and marketing.
On the other hand, in recent years, the international trade environment has faced many challenges, including different policies, regulations, and laws in various countries. When companies land in different countries, they need to consider the local cultural background to adapt to the diverse needs of consumers in different countries. Coupled with the rapid development of technology, consumer needs are also changing rapidly.
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In the past few years, the foreign trade industry has faced multiple changes, and under the impetus of various factors, companies have also begun to seek some transformations.
Liang Cuiping observed that many companies choose to use third-party market platforms as a starting point when they first go global, but as their experience grows and their brand awareness strengthens, they start looking for new growth spaces and opportunities. At this time, independent site going global becomes their new option. "In the past few years, independent sites have become an important way for companies to expand their business and achieve growth when going global."
An independent site refers to a brand or company directly selling products to consumers through its own e-commerce website, without relying on third-party platforms such as Amazon, eBay, etc.
Liang Cuiping believes that creating a brand's independent site has many important values for cross-border companies, including increasing profit margins, shaping brand image, driving growth through user insights, and achieving diversified promotion in the global market. These advantages have made independent sites increasingly popular in companies' international strategies.
In the view of Huang Mimi, the founder and CEO of TIJN, a vertical overseas brand focused on eyeglasses, if you want to build your own brand in the overseas market, you must have your own independent site, which is different from the habits of many domestic consumers. At the same time, independent sites can not only fully express the brand's value proposition but also help companies obtain more user data, such as discounts, website registration. In this process, the brand can have more interactions with customers. The potential accumulated by the brand through independent sites can even help promote some layouts in offline channels.
However, while brand independent sites bring benefits to cross-border companies and sellers, they also face many challenges. Compared with platform e-commerce, independent sites going global have significant differences and greater difficulties in website construction, logistics distribution, payment docking, and customer service processes. Merchants, especially small and medium-sized cross-border sellers, are limited by their company size and resources. When starting independent site business, they often lack effective marketing strategies and refined operational management experience, making it difficult to cope with the challenges of transformation.Liang Cuiping pointed out that many people believe it is difficult for independent stations to succeed, mainly due to several common issues. First and foremost, brand awareness is crucial, and products need to have differentiated features; secondly, products and services must create value for consumers. "Operating an independent station may face challenges in the initial stage. Success requires a firm determination and finding the right partners in every link to lay a solid foundation together. This includes website construction, market adaptability, logistics, return policies, and customer service, among other aspects."
She emphasized that if sellers can find experienced partners in different links of independent station operations, the probability of success will be higher.
In June of this year, Google launched a cross-border e-commerce acceleration plan and cooperated with agents and ecological partners to provide a cross-border e-commerce incubation project for enterprises going abroad. The project aims to help enterprises quickly solve various difficulties encountered in the process of building independent stations through one-stop DTC independent station incubation services, in order to achieve a comprehensive channel layout.
Liang Cuiping believes that from the launch of Google's cross-border e-commerce acceleration plan to the establishment of Google's cross-border e-commerce acceleration center (Xiamen), it is an important link for Google to help the growth of cross-border e-commerce, that is, to integrate resources. From the past focus on Google's own solutions to now integrating all key links within the ecology on this basis, it helps enterprises quickly solve various troubles encountered when building independent stations, making each link better and easier to carry out independent station business.