[Ebang Original] overseas brand URTOPIA completed Series A financing; In the second half of the year, TikTok's daily GMV in the United States is expected to exceed 100 million US dollars; DJI enters the e-bike track.
Finish丨Wang Haoran
In the past week, these things have happened in the field of cross-border e-commerce:
# Platform Trends #
【Amazon】
1 Amazon founders to sell 25 million Amazon shares worth $5 billion
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos revealed a plan: he will sell 25 million shares of Amazon stock worth $5 billion (currently about 36.448 billion yuan). After completing the plan, he still holds nearly 912 million shares of Amazon stock, or about 8.8%.
2 Amazon Germany will implement single-use plastic compliance requirements from 2025
A few days ago, Amazon issued the latest announcement, starting from January 1, 2025, Amazon Germany sellers need to meet the requirements of extended producer responsibility for single-use plastic products, and if you want to sell single-use plastic products on the Amazon platform, you must complete the registration of the single-use plastic compliance act before January 1, 2025, and submit the relevant registration number to Amazon, otherwise the non-compliant goods will be stopped after this date.
3 Amazon injects $72 million to strengthen the growth of digital payments business in India
A few days ago, Amazon injected 6 billion rupees (about 72 million US dollars) into Amazon Pay India to strengthen its digital payment business in India and enhance its influence in India. According to Statista's report, the total transaction value of India's digital payments market is expected to reach $254.6 billion in 2024. This figure is expected to reach $394.4 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 11.6% during the period. This year, Amazon's total investment in Amazon Pay in India reached Rs 95 crore, including a Rs 350 crore investment in the payment platform in February this year.
【TikTok】
1 TikTok Shop泰国必填商品属性成上架硬性门槛
TikTok Shop Thailand Cross-border Store has updated its product detail page policy to emphasize required product attributes to enhance shopping security and transparency. From July 1, 2024, sellers will be required to submit required attributes before products of specific categories are put on the shelves, covering the Thai Industrial Standard Number (TIS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) registration number, etc., involving food, maternal and child products, health and beauty, electronics, pet products and other fields. This is designed to ensure product compliance and increase customer trust.
2 TikTok Shop Philippines adjusts the fulfillment cycle of 77 major promotions
In anticipation of the 77 promotion, TikTok Shop's local store in the Philippines announced that it will adjust the fulfillment cycle for orders generated from July 5 to 8. The order confirmation period is from July 5th to July 6th, the last booking date is adjusted to July 7th, and the last shipping date is July 8th. Orders are confirmed from July 7 to July 8, with the last booking date being adjusted to July 9 and the last shipping date being July 10.
Sellers are required to ensure that all orders are fulfilled within the extended fulfillment period, and that the package must be packed and received by the logistics provider within 48 hours of the order status changing to "Ready to Ship-Collect". If you encounter fulfillment or logistics issues, you can submit a ticket through the Help Center or contact online customer service. In addition, all couriers will operate normally from Monday to Saturday to ensure smooth logistics. (Overseas Network)
3 TikTok Vietnam will provide $1 million in advertising to support small and medium-sized enterprises in the second half of the year
TikTok has pledged up to $1 million in advertising support for small and medium-sized businesses in the second half of this year.
At the TikTok SMB Summit 2024 event, Mr. Nguyen Lam Thanh, CEO of TikTok Vietnam, announced a $1 million advertising credit support program for the promotion of commercial products and services of Vietnamese brands on the platform.
4 TikTok is developing a new AI chatbot: it has applied for the Genie trademark service
TikTok filed the "Genie" trademark in the U.S. in May for an AI chatbot software that simulates conversations, facilitates interaction and communication between humans and AI, and produces human-like speech and text, according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filings.
Recently, TikTok introduced new AI features for its advertising services, such as digital avatars and AI voiceovers. But the recent trademark application seems to go a step further and suggest that it is developing a full-fledged chatbot. (Yien.com)
【Alibaba】
1 Ali International will launch a dedicated website for Korean companies in the second half of this year
Alibaba International Station recently announced that it will launch an exclusive website for Korean companies in the second half of this year. This is the first country-only website launched by Alibaba Group in Asia. The site will work with businesses that offer e-commerce integration solutions to provide more convenient product registration and management services, as well as automatic translation of Korean product descriptions into English through a separate app.
In order to accelerate the digitalization and globalization of Korean SMEs, the Korean Business Dedicated Website will also explore ways to cooperate with government agencies to jointly provide various types of support to SMEs. Alibaba has also launched a "membership experience program" that allows South Korean SMEs to sell through an exclusive website for an annual fee of 280,000 won (about $199).
2 Ali International Station cooperates with the Olympic Games and will launch a "special promotion" before the Olympic Games
Ali International Station will launch a "special promotion" before the Olympic Games, which is expected to cover more than 15,000 merchants and more than one million goods, bringing business increments to merchants.
It is reported that this cooperation is part of Alibaba Group's top partner program with the IOC.
As early as March this year, the online export of sporting goods to France on the Ali international platform has begun to skyrocket. Specifically, exports of popular goods such as tennis suits, custom-made sportswear, training helmets, outdoor sportswear, action cameras, golf bags, etc., have more than quadrupled.
During the Olympic Games, Ali International Station's AI foreign trade tools and semi-managed services will be further rolled out overseas to help Chinese businesses seize the Olympic dividends.
3 AliExpress: During the June promotion, the sales of popular single products of many brand merchants exceeded one million US dollars within 10 days
During the AliExpress promotion in June, the sales of popular items of many brand merchants exceeded one million dollars within 10 days. Among them, there are not only well-known brands such as Xiaomi and Lenovo, but also emerging brands in the fields of home improvement, cycling, and pets. In April this year, AliExpress's "10 billion subsidy for Chinese brands to go to sea" project surfaced, known as AliExpress's No. 1 project in 2024, and the investment targets include cross-border sales, Tmall brand merchants, etc.
【Shopify】
1 Shopify's return approval process adds the functions of exchange products and return fees
A few days ago, Shopify's return approval process added the function of replacing products and return fees. When a customer submits a return request, the merchant receives an email notification to review the request, and then can approve or reject the request in the Shopify admin. When authorizing a return request, merchants can recoup marketing losses and boost product sales by adding replacement items and emailing shipping instructions and any return labels to customers. At the same time, return shipping costs and re-listing fees can be added to the approval process, which will be automatically added to the return settlement.
2 Shopify Flow updated metafield checking functionality
Shopify Flow has made an update to the metafield feature. Merchants can now more easily inspect metafield values in Shopify Flow. Each resource (product, order, etc.) has a new metafield, and when you select a metafield, merchants can choose from a list of known metafields for that resource. Once you select a metafield, an alias is generated, which Shopify Flow uses to get metafield data, which merchants can use in later steps and in their Liquid themes. The variable will appear in a group named "Field with Parameters".
【Shopee】
1 Shopee Taiwan Station strictly inspects BSMI certification
According to Shopee Taiwan, China, from July 5, 2024, the format of "Standards, Inspection and Inspection Bureau Logo (Small Yellow Label)" will be added to the BSMI product attribute column.
Sellers can fill in the self-printed BSMI font number or small yellow label font number of the business application according to the application method. If the product sold has passed the BSMI product inspection, please fill in the font size in the attribute field, and the system will automatically check whether the font size content is correct.
The BSMI brand name is applicable to the goods that should be inspected, and its competent authority is the Bureau of Standards and Metrology of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. According to the provisions of the Commodity Inspection Law, the seller shall not display or sell the goods that should be inspected if they do not meet the inspection requirements; In accordance with the provisions of Article 60 and Article 60-2 of the same Act, a non-compliant person may be fined not less than NT$200,000 but not more than NT$2,000,000,000 or NT$10,000 but not more than NT$100,000,000, and may be punished consecutively. If you intend to use a non-compliant BSMI brand name to sell related goods, you may violate Article 255 of the Criminal Law and be sentenced to up to one year in prison, criminal detention or a fine of up to 30,000 yuan.
2 Shopee Philippines launched the seller advance payment function
Shopee Philippines has recently launched a advance payment function called Fast Funds to ease the pressure on sellers' capital turnover and realize the rapid return and reinvestment of funds. Eligible sellers can automatically receive up to 95% of the sales proceeds after the order is shipped, without waiting for the buyer to confirm receipt or wait for the Shopee guarantee to end. (Overseas Network)
3 Shopee Vietnam station merchants need red invoices or customs declarations to respond to customer complaints
Shopee's local store in Vietnam recently issued a notice to upgrade the store's regulatory policy. When faced with customer complaints, Shopee requires merchants to provide red invoices or customs declarations as proof of the legitimate source of the goods. This measure directly points to the core of compliance management, that is, only registered companies or self-employed individuals can meet this requirement if they purchase or import goods through formal channels.
4 Shopee's local store in Indonesia implements real face recognition
Shopee's local store in Indonesia announced that from July 1, 2024, all local stores operating in Indonesia will implement a mandatory facial recognition verification mechanism. The aim is to further enhance the security and transparency of the platform and ensure the authenticity and reliability of business information, thereby enhancing the shopping experience and trust of consumers.
According to the new rules, merchants must complete identity verification through facial recognition technology to confirm that the entity they operate is a real person or business. This measure will effectively prevent fake accounts, fraud, and identity theft, and build a safer trading environment for the platform. When the merchant registers or logs in to an account, the system will ask for a real-time face scan before proceeding.
5 Shopee Philippines adjusts the transaction service fee
A few days ago, Shopee Philippines announced that from July 1, 2024, the platform will adjust the transaction service rate, sellers who participate in the free shipping event will receive a 2.24% discount on transaction service fees, sellers who reach the fast shipping threshold will receive an additional 1% discount on transaction service fees, and sellers who participate in these two activities can get a 3.24% discount on transaction service fees.
6 Shopee raises the commission of the Thai site, and the single rate rises by more than 8%
A few days ago, Shopee Thailand announced that in order to motivate sellers to give consumers a better consumption experience, from July 12, 2024, the commission fees of overseas warehouses, third-party warehouses and Nanning warehouses of Shopee Thailand site will be uniformly increased by 2.14%, and after adjustment, the SLS orders of PFF (one store multi-transport store) of overseas warehouses and Nanning warehouses will rise to 8.56%, which are the two commission items with the highest rates at present.
7 Shopee Malaysia Launches Live Sales Incentive Program Commission Reduction + Free Gold Coins
Shopee Malaysia local store has launched a three-month incentive program to provide up to RM 1,000 commission rebate for orders completed through Shopee Live from 1 July to 29 September 2024. The program encourages sellers to use the live streaming feature to increase sales and enjoy benefits such as fee rebates, free coins, exclusive coupons for live streaming, and more.
[Other Platforms]
1 Shein will re-enter India through the Reliance Retail app and store
India's Reliance Retail Ventures plans to launch products from Chinese fast fashion brand Shein in the coming weeks, covering both online and offline stores. Shein was banned from the Indian market in 2020 due to border tensions between China and India. The partnership marks Shein's re-entry into the Indian market after a four-year absence, with the support of Reliance Retail. (Economic Times of India)
2 Ozon Global: Shipments of goods to China are normal, payment is normal
Ozon representatives said a few days ago that the Ozon Global service continues to deliver goods from China and Turkey as normal, and there are no payment problems when purchasing Chinese goods. Earlier it was reported that sellers and buyers of Ozon Global are experiencing difficulties in ordering large household appliances from China. At the same time, the assortment of some expensive goods on Ozon Global has decreased, mainly due to the lowering of the duty-free import threshold to 200 euros, and many sellers have switched to selling cheaper goods. According to Ozon, to date, more than 18 million items have been received from foreign sellers, the delivery time is an average of two weeks, and payment problems are non-existent.
3 DHgate's upgraded after-sales dispute policy will take effect on July 11
A few days ago, DHgate announced that in order to further enhance the after-sales guarantee ability of buyers on the platform, improve the buyer's transaction service experience and transaction stickiness, standardize the seller's transaction performance behavior, and ensure the healthy and sustainable development of the platform. From July 11, 2024, the platform will increase after-sales processing for transaction violations, and automatically implement the refund plan in accordance with the rules system.
4 Ozon's test payment solution is scheduled to be completed this month
Ozon has issued a notice about the progress of the testing of the payment solution, which indicates that it will continue to conduct payment tests and invite all sellers to link all new payment methods through the seller account portal, especially the new e-wallet partner GEP. And plans to complete the entire payment test program in July. According to Ozon, factors such as the status of KYC verification of the seller's payment account, the status of the e-wallet connection, the performance and compliance of the store account, and the timing of the registration of the Ozon account are crucial for the successful completion of the payment test program.
5 Walmart Launches "Collectibles Experience" Campaign Invites Sellers to Participate with Zero Referral Fee
Walmart has announced the launch of a special campaign for collectibles sellers, the "Collectibles Experience", which aims to bring a new shopping experience to buyers through its vast marketplace platform, while offering a series of attractive offers to eligible sellers. The campaign runs from July 1 to September 30, 2024, during which sellers can enjoy exclusive benefits with zero referral fees.
In addition, Walmart has introduced flexible return policy options, pre-order services, a new grading system for trading cards and comic books, and policies that encourage the sale of second-hand collectibles to meet the diverse needs of different customers.
6 Yandex Shop began testing the delivery of goods within one hour
Yandex Shop, which began testing an hour-delivery service in Moscow, is already operating in the Nagorny district, where Lavka customers can purchase about 10,000 products. Orders are delivered by couriers within 60 minutes or at a time convenient for the customer, suitable for small and large purchases. Customers can now purchase children's products, household chemicals and home repair products. The service will analyze customer needs and expand the range of high-demand categories.
7 eBay bets heavily on the second-hand market to expand the scope of authenticity certification
An announcement issued by eBay said that it announced the expansion of the scope of the certification service for handbag products. In the past, only handbags above $500 could enjoy the authenticity certification provided by the platform, but now, products priced between $200 and $499.99 can also enjoy this service.
For products priced below $500, buyers must pay a $40 fee to verify the authenticity of the product, while products above $500 can still be certified for free.
# Merchant Circle #
1 Google's cross-border e-commerce acceleration program has been launched in Shenzhen and Xiamen
A few days ago, at the China (Xiamen) International Cross-border E-commerce Exhibition, Google officially launched the cross-border e-commerce acceleration plan, aiming at the transformation pain points and growth needs faced by overseas sellers, through one-stop independent station incubation services, to help enterprises quickly solve common transformation problems, more easily open independent station business, and achieve omni-channel layout.
The first phase of the plan covers Xiamen and Shenzhen, and the first Google cross-border e-commerce acceleration center will be set up in the Xiamen Pilot Free Trade Zone this year to undertake the implementation of the plan.
At present, Google's cross-border e-commerce acceleration program has been officially launched in Shenzhen and Xiamen. Google expects to take the lead in helping 1,000 preferred platform e-commerce companies successfully transform into independent websites through the cross-border e-commerce acceleration program in 2024.
2 店小秘ERP对接TikTok Shop全托管
A few days ago, the ERP of the store secretary docked with TikTok Shop for full hosting. Support TikTok Shop fully managed sellers, directly create a stock list, and send it to the platform warehouse to achieve one-click delivery. Provide real-time monitoring function, sellers can instantly understand the status of the whole process of the stock order, including creation, review, warehousing and delivery.
3Wanlihui launched TikTok Shop Southeast Asia cross-border site to collect money
Wanlihui has reached an official cooperation with TikTok Shop to officially launch the five major sites in Southeast Asia (including Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines), and will be launched in the United States and the United Kingdom in the future.
4 DJI entered the 100 billion E-bike track, aiming at high-end electric power systems
At the EUROBIKE2024 Eurocycle, one of the world's most influential cycling events, DJI unveiled its eBike electric booster system "DJI Avinox", which means that DJI has officially entered the e-bike track. (36 Krypton)
5 Captain BI and PartnerBoost reached a strategic cooperation
Amazon's third-party tool Captain BI announced that it has officially reached a strategic partnership with PartnerBoost, a global affiliate marketing platform, and the two parties will complement each other's advantages in multiple dimensions such as data mining, market expansion, and customer service. Captain BI said that Captain BI will continue to upgrade products and one-to-one user exclusive services, and recruit outstanding talents from the industry to join.
# Investment & Financing #
1 URTOPIA, an e-bike overseas brand, completed a round of financing of over 10 million US dollars
URTOPIA, an e-bike (e-bike) overseas brand, has recently completed a series A financing with a total amount of more than 10 million US dollars, with investors including Brizan Ventures, DCM China, Kongho Fund, Guangyuan Harmony, Nanhu Financial, and Eclickworld. This round of financing will be used for the expansion of sales network, technology research and development, and the construction of its own factory.
It is reported that URTOPIA, founded in August 2021, is a technology company focusing on the field of electric bicycles. The company has independently developed core technologies such as adaptive control and intelligent voice recognition, as well as a vehicle, cloud, and APP data interconnection system, to create a product line including e-bikes and various peripheral products, and has reached European and American users through online + offline, DTC + B2B and other modes.
# Overseas Marketing #
1 Zuckerberg: Threads has over 175 million monthly active users
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed on Wednesday that Threads has more than 175 million monthly active users, two days before its one-year anniversary. In February, he set the number of monthly active users of hreads at more than 150 million. The number of monthly users is only a limited reflection of Threads' popularity, and he has yet to disclose key metrics such as the number of daily active users and the average time spent per user.
A strong competitor to Elon Musk's X (formerly known as Twitter), Threads hit the app store on July 5 last year and attracted 100 million users in less than a week.
# Cross-border logistics #
1 FedEx opens two new international freight routes from China to the United States
FedEx has opened new international freight routes to the United States in Qingdao and Xiamen, and will establish international port operation centers in both places to improve the efficiency of operations and customs clearance to meet the growing business needs of local customers.
One of the routes departs from Jiaodong International Airport in Qingdao, China, and stops in Osaka, Japan, to FedEx's major transshipment hub cities in the United States, reducing the transit time of parcels and heavy cargo exported to North America by customers in Qingdao and Shandong by one day compared to the past.
The other route, which departs from Gaoqi International Airport in Xiamen, China, and stops at Incheon, South Korea, to Anchorage, Alaska, USA, will increase capacity for customers in Xiamen and Fujian and help reduce transit times for North American parcels and heavy cargo.
# Industry Policies & Data #
1 Ministry of Commerce: From January to May, the total import and export volume of mainland trade in services was 3,021.96 billion yuan
A few days ago, the person in charge of the Department of Trade in Services of the Ministry of Commerce introduced the development of trade in services from January to May 2024. From January to May 2024, the mainland's trade in services continued to grow rapidly, with a total import and export volume of 3,021.96 billion yuan (RMB, the same below), a year-on-year increase of 16%. Among them, exports were 1,219.56 billion yuan, an increase of 11%; imports were 1,802.4 billion yuan, up by 19.6 percent; The deficit in trade in services was 582.84 billion yuan. (SSE News)
2 Statista: The global small home appliance market will reach $254.3 billion in 2024
According to Statista, the global small household appliance market will reach $254.3 billion in 2024 and is expected to maintain a compound annual growth rate of 4.6% from 2024 to 2029.
3 Vietnam lowers VAT to 8% to cover imports and exports, production and trade
The Vietnamese government has announced that it will reduce the value-added tax (VAT) on most goods and services from 10% to 8% from July 1 to December 31 to stimulate economic growth. The tax cut excludes sectors such as telecommunications, finance, and real estate, as well as special consumer goods. The decree covers the areas of import, export and production, and trade, and details the process of implementing tax incentives.
The Ministry of Finance noted that a number of administrative fees and charges will be cut until the end of the year to help businesses reduce costs and boost economic vitality. The operating fees of banks and credit institutions, the fees for processing citizenship certificates, the fees for the registration of intellectual property rights, the fees for fire safety approvals and the fees for the use of railway facilities have all been halved. Tariffs on civil aviation licences, airport restricted area passes and international flights have been reduced from 10 per cent to 30 per cent. Most fees in the securities industry will also be halved, with a few exceptions.
4 The EU plans to cancel the 150 euro tax exemption policy for low-priced goods in e-commerce
The European Union is embarking on new policies aimed at countering the surge in cheap imports. According to the plan, the EU will remove the current exemption from tariffs on imports under 150 euros, a move that will directly affect the business of platforms such as Chinese online retailers Temu and AliExpress in Europe. It is reported that up to 2 billion parcels of less than 150 euros arrived from outside the EU in 2023, and the huge volume of e-commerce goods has exceeded the processing capacity of customs. In order to protect the domestic market, the EU intends to speed up the implementation of tariff reform and remove the current import duty-free threshold.
5 Gmarket: The size of the Korean pet market is rapidly surpassing that of the baby market
In the first five months of this year, 69% of sales of pet food and human infant formula in the South Korean market came from pet goods, according to data from South Korean e-commerce platform Gmarket. For the first time, sales of pet strollers surpassed sales of strollers. Industry insiders expect that the trend of South Korea's pet care market surpassing the baby care market will become more obvious in the next few years, and the size of South Korea's pet market will grow to 6 trillion won (about 31.56 billion yuan) in 2027. (Finance Associated Press)
6 Indonesia intends to impose high safeguard tariffs on a wide range of imported goods
Indonesia is preparing to restart plans to protect domestic industries by imposing safeguard tariffs of 100 to 200 percent on imports ranging from footwear to ceramics, according to Indonesia's trade minister.
Trade Minister Zulkifli Hassan said that the planned import duties are more than 100% on average and could affect the import of footwear, clothing, textiles, cosmetics and ceramics.
7 FastMoss White Paper: In the second half of the year, the single-day GMV of TikTok e-commerce in the United States is expected to exceed 100 million US dollars
FastMoss, a data intelligence analysis platform, released the 2024 semi-annual TikTok ecological development white paper, revealing FastMoss's 7 key predictions for the TikTok market in the second half of 2024:
TikTok's live broadcast in the United States will exceed $5 million in a single session; TikTok Shop's single-day GMV in Southeast Asia is expected to exceed $100 million; The speed of Chinese merchants entering TikTok will grow exponentially; TikTok plus window shopping in the United States will break through the 2 million mark; TikTok in the United States will launch localized life services; In the second half of 2024, the single-day GMV of TikTok e-commerce in the United States is expected to exceed 100 million US dollars; The competition between CAP and TSP in the United States will become more intense.