Following the Catalyst conference which took place earlier this month, ChannelAdvisor have released the results of a market survey revealing where retailers intend to expand over the course of the next year.
According to the research, conducted at Catalyst Europe 2013, a leading European e-commerce event, 17% of European retailers are anticipating expansion into Asia within the next two years (in addition to 17% that are already selling into Asia), compared with 21% who expect to expand into North America (in addition to 34% that already sell into North America).
It is also expected that a further 13% of European retailers will expand to South America in the next two years, increasing from the 23% who currently operate in this region today. However, retailers are not overlooking the UK and European e-commerce markets with 71% already active in other European countries.
This research is in line with findings recently published by Forrester, who announced that 8 -10% of online sales in the UK are cross-border. The IMRG also recently reported that cross-border sales in Europe are set to reach €36bn in 2013, while e-commerce sales in AsiaPac grew more than 33% to $332bn in 2012.
“It is extremely positive to see that retailers have not simply adopted a ‘one-size-fits all’ approach to international expansion, and are instead weighing up their options for cross-border trade,” commented Zoe Ripley, Marketing Director, EMEA for ChannelAdvisor. “As we can see, a substantial percentage are already centring their e-commerce activity in the UK, Europe, Asia and North and South America, with more expected to venture into these markets in coming years. After the practical advice and workshops at Catalyst EU, attendees and ChannelAdvisor customers alike are equipped with the tools and services to fuel their expansion plans and cross-border trade strategy.”
With Amazon opening up sales in the EU with their new European selling accounts and eBay offering free international listings with an Anchor Shop it’s never been easier or cheaper to sell abroad. However whilst the emerging markets of Asia, Russia and South America (in particular Brazil) present great opportunities, these regions are still tougher to service than the local European neighbours.
Which territories do you already target and are there countries or regions that you intend to target over the course of the next year?
