Going To Sea Has Become A Hot Topic. Is It Easy To Do Cross-border Auto Parts E-commerce?

Auto parts cross-border e-commerce was born in the era of online shopping, and it has developed more vigorously in the past two or three years due to the impact of the epidemic. Generally speaking, the marketing mode is B2B or B2C. Domestic individual or enterprise auto parts dealers want to enter the cross-border e-commerce market, there are some mandatory requirements.

In recent years, domestic cars have made remarkable achievements in "going to sea", and the export of auto parts has become a hot topic in the auto aftermarket. According to the General Administration of Customs, in the January-October period of 2022, the export value of auto parts was 76.59 billion U.S. dollars, up 11.7 percent year on year, accounting for 58.9 percent of the total export value of auto goods. In the main export varieties of auto parts, except the export amount of engine decreased slightly, the other three categories of auto parts varieties continued to grow. In the post-epidemic era, everyone wants to seek more market growth opportunities in the automobile aftermarket. Many people have their eyes on the overseas auto parts market and the cross-border e-commerce operation mode. What should cross-border e-commerce do? Is everyone able to rush in, like Taobao shop, registered shop can be put on the shelves to sell goods?

Auto parts cross-border e-commerce was born in the era of online shopping, and it has developed more vigorously in the past two or three years due to the impact of the epidemic. Generally speaking, the marketing mode is B2B or B2C. According to the overseas situation, in the United States alone, a major automobile country, statistics show that nearly 80% of people shop online, and more than 50% of people like to shop online. Not only the United States, other European and American countries, Australia and other white mainstream countries car culture, plus labor costs are more expensive, owners like to buy their own parts to repair and maintain the car, boosting the development of auto parts e-commerce.

For domestic individual or enterprise auto parts dealers, if they want to enter the cross-border e-commerce market, they should first do a good job of market research. Which (or more) countries or regions do they want to enter? What types of cars are popular in the country or region and what products sell well? Do you have the advantage of supply? Is there a logistics advantage? When these have the direction and grasp, the next is to choose a cross-border e-commerce platform to settle in.

Generally, cross-border e-commerce platforms have the following requirements for sellers: 1. Sellers are required to have industrial and commercial qualifications, and auto parts products are authorized or owned brands; 2. 2. The seller shall pay the monthly fee, commission, or deposit (about several hundred dollars) to the Platform; 3. Language barrier free. Sellers should understand English at least, and cross-border e-commerce in different countries should also be able to speak different languages.

For most dealers, one or two of the above will keep them at bay, but for those determined to enter the field, there are options. That is to recruit foreign trade professionals to meet the language and foreign trade professional requirements. When the requirements are met, you can consider which platform to choose.

According to the summary of Zhihu netizens, the most suitable cross-border platforms for smes and individual dealers to get a fast start are as follows:

AMAZON, which is the largest cross-border e-commerce, is also imitated by Taobao in China. Amazon has a very mature auto parts sales plate, and large flow, opportunities, but does not allow the sale of second-hand auto parts, for private brands is very suitable, the promotion of the website is very supportive of private brands;

eBay, a giant platform that rivals Amazon, offers all types of car parts and allows the sale of used parts. Car dealers, car enthusiasts, car salvage practitioners and scrappage dealers are also flocking to eBay.

Shopee, usually referred to as "Shrimp PI" in Chinese, is a cross-border platform of Asian head with low threshold and barrier-free language;

Fordeal: The leading cross-border platform in the Middle East with high conversion and high unit price;

Lazada: the TOP cross-border platform in Southeast Asia, does not arbitrarily fine, does not arbitrarily accept buyers' refund;

ozon: Known as the "Russian Amazon", it is developing rapidly and has great market prospects;

Allegro: The hegemon of e-commerce platform in Poland, friendly to novices with multiple resources to support them to start; Aliexpress: global coverage, ultra-low commission and no annual fee, suitable for 0 experienced sellers;

emag: The fastest growing e-commerce platform in Europe, with few Chinese sellers, little competition and a lot of traffic.

The more common cross-border e-commerce platforms listed above need to be selected according to the actual needs of sellers. Generally speaking, the platform can provide sellers with logistics, foreign exchange settlement solutions, which is not too much to worry about. But for novices, the most important thing to pay attention to is the volume of traffic on the platform itself, which can be examined according to the coverage of the platform globally, or in a region or country, the number of active users, and the volume of buyers.

After entering the platform, products should be put on the shelf according to each market strategy. When products are put on the shelf, an important basic operation conducive to sales is to make detailed introduction of products, including product model, title, applicable scene, photos and assembly data. Description must be complete, accurate, and attractive, so that the buyer can quickly match the product, at the same time, the store and the product can also play a good promotion role. This involves professional issues, one is familiar with the product itself, the other is familiar with the operation of the website page (this can be practiced to make perfect learning).

Because the auto parts model is many, complex, and the installation also has certain data requirements, plus some models in different countries of manufacturing methods, the use of parts are slightly different, especially when it comes to performance parts replacement and modification, the use of relevant laws are also different, so the seller of the product adaptation and compatibility of the description, must be professional enough to ensure accurate description, Otherwise, it will affect the seller's confidence to buy, but also produce complex after-sales problems. The seller should narrow down the range of compatible vehicles to the brand, model, year, car series and even engine, and describe them in detail to consumers.

If you need to take photos, try your best to take 360 degree photos to show the product situation to consumers in an all-round way, so as to give consumers enough convincing force. The seller can also provide the compatible OE manufacturer part number for the product to the consumer, so that the consumer can quickly search the product by the part number. In addition to the corresponding brand, a particular part can also be adapted to other vehicles, or can be specially labeled, so as to reach more consumers.

In addition to managing and displaying good products, sellers also need to increase sales through search engine optimization, guided consumer reviews, advertising and other modes according to the characteristics of the platform. To sum up, professional product knowledge is the foundation, keep learning and study, as soon as possible familiar with the platform marketing model is the key, only in this way, as soon as possible, start a good business.

Due to the change and complexity of auto parts products is relatively high, so in the pre-sale, after-sales, and even return range will have a great difference, the need for sellers to invest more energy and consumers for high frequency of communication, if the return of goods, then also bear the cost of freight, commission and other costs, but also may face customer "poor" evaluation. Therefore, in order to work more efficiently and reduce unnecessary costs, in addition to the above mentioned as far as possible to describe the product situation clearly, detailed, real, sellers should also stand in the perspective of consumers for product introduction, in line with consumer buying habits. For some large items, such as engines, it is necessary to fully communicate before delivery, otherwise the return of goods will greatly increase the cost of logistics and tariffs.

There are many ways about cross-border e-commerce, this is just a brief introduction, to unfamiliar with the field but interested in its colleagues for a little introduction. Rome wasn't built in a day, and entering the field of cross-border e-commerce does require enough determination and learning ability to make a try.

However, in the Internet economy, businesses can be reached to every corner of the world with a mouse. Overseas consumers demand for auto parts is strong, Europe, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Russia, Australia, South Africa and other regional markets are full of vitality, for the conditions to carry out cross-border e-commerce auto parts individual dealers or enterprises, may try to enter.

Source: author | 虹月