US-Chinese postal alliance drives eBay export growth
Online retail giant eBay is experiencing “phenomenal” growth in exports from Asia to places including the US, UK and Australia. And some of that growth is being driven by key alliances eBay has formed with postal operators including the US Postal Service, China Post and HongKong Post.
The American consumer-to-consumer retail marketplace said yesterday that its sellers are set to ship more than 140m parcels from Asia this year, with expectations that they could exceed 200m next year.
But, the number one “customer pain point” for eBay exporters remains shipping times and shipping costs, it said in a new report.
eBay said it was seeing year-on-year growth rates of around 26% in the Asia region, which has been the focus of the company’s development for the last five years, and has extended its footprint significantly in the past two years into Southeast Asia, Taiwan, India, Japan and South Korea.
A report issued this week charting eBay’s export success in the Asian region said the five top eBay exporters were China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and Korea.
Top consumer purchasers were the US, Australia, the UK, Germany and Canada.
Cross-border trade now accounts for 20% of eBay’s total sales, and the company has been building on demand by providing seminars for eBay merchants on how to get into international sales.
Opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region have been particularly good with Australia, with the strong Australian dollar boosting consumer demand, but remain equally good in Europe and North America, said Jeff Liao, eBay vice president for cross-border trade.
“It is our belief that the strong growth Asian exporters are experiencing on eBay is set to continue,” he said.
“We’re optimistic that, together with PayPal, eBay can further build its global business through international trade.”
US-China link
eBay said its relationships with the US Postal Service, China Post and Hong Kong Post were showing particular promise.
A new “ePacket” shipping service was launched in August 2010 for eBay merchants exporting to the US, as a joint service between USPS and China Post. The service offered local pickup, label printing, pre-customers declaration and a 7-10 day guaranteed delivery period.
It also offers a 30-50% discounted price compared to other services.
So far, eBay said the service has seen more than 30,000 parcels a day being processed, and is used by 40% of eBay selleds in China. Around 80% of items are delivered in 5-10 days.
“The US Postal Service, and China Post Express & Logistics Corporation have established a far-reaching shipping alliance that is leading to more stable and affordable China-to-US online trade,” said Liao.
A similar service has been launched by HongKong Post and the USPS for merchants in Hong Kong, called e-Express, and eBay said it is currently working to expand postal partnerships throughout the rest of the region.
eBay said the tracking component of the service was of “critical importance” to merchants – the company has build a local tracking hub to integrate six regional shippers in China.
