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PULPOU BLOG
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Cross-Border E-commerce Platforms: Risk or Opportunity?
What they are, how they work, the most sought-after products, and how different stores protect themselves in cases of counterfeit and pirated products. The experience of TiendaMía and TheCocoBox, two operators in the Americas.
Cross-border e-commerce is the buying and selling of goods or services across different countries. Matías Bras Harriot, co-founder of TheCocobox, an online store "designed for users to buy products from the most important brands in the United States," defines his business this way in a conversation with Pulpou. The reason for this growing business is that thousands of stores in developed countries do not ship internationally. Therefore, cross-border platforms act as intermediaries.
The business is developing in many areas of the logistics market, especially the classic Business to Consumer (B2C) and Business to Business (B2B) sectors, where marketplaces like Amazon and Alibaba prevail, or Consumer to Consumer (C2C), where the main players are Amazon, eBay, and MercadoLibre, among others.
Figures of a Growing Phenomenon
Five years ago, according to Accenture, only 12 countries represented almost 80% of all cross-border buyers. Since then, hundreds of thousands of consumers have joined e-commerce, indirectly driving the phenomenon. According to the prestigious site e-marketer, it is estimated that by 2023, more than 63% of total retail sales in China will be made through e-commerce. Currently, e-commerce sales in China account for more than 40% of global e-commerce sales, which is more than the combined sales through this channel in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan.
Roger Dimant, country manager of Tiendamía Argentina, a platform specializing in cross-border shipments, states that users often choose cross-border e-commerce due to price differences, but also because of product availability. "Variety is fundamental, and many things are not available in the country." That is why followers of this trend are usually in developing countries, and the suppliers are in marketplaces in countries like the United States and China, especially.
“Maximizing performance will depend on several factors, but primarily its central point is the same relationship as in physical stores: supply/demand,” emphasizes Harriot. In this sense, he notes, specific variables of this type of operations must be considered, such as logistics, reverse logistics, and the regulations of each country, both of origin and destination.
Harriot points out that the products most commonly sought are precisely those not geographically available for traditional purchase, whether in physical stores or local e-commerce platforms, or those that could be cheaper due to customs tariffs: computing, electronics, fashion, and specific products for education or development (books, spare parts, machinery, work tools, and accessories, among others).
Dimant highlights that today, the products most frequently entering Argentina from the United States, their main source, are Stanley thermoses, JBL speakers, Apple AirPods, Google Chromecasts, Apple iPads, Cry Babies dolls, general electronics, clothing, spare parts, and professional tools, among other things.
Intellectual Property Policies
Regarding brand protection policies, TheCocobox is already regulated by Amazon, which is responsible for monitoring listings, the products offered, and whether the seller or brand has any export restrictions (whether due to a commercial policy or to avoid issues with regional representatives in the destination country). If so, Amazon simply blocks the product delivery. The same applies to Tiendamía, so they usually do not encounter such problems, the company tells Pulpou.
Concerning counterfeit or pirated products, Bras Harriot explains that the same policy mentioned earlier applies: Amazon must regulate the proliferation of such listings in the first instance, “and in the case of TheCocobox, these types of purchases are alerted to the customer beforehand (if applicable); although ultimately the purchase itself is the customer's responsibility. While our main service is limited to facilitating the purchase in the country of origin and delivering the product to the destination, our Customer Care service strives to manage and resolve any incidents that may arise with the purchase.”
Regarding the responsibility if a manufacturer files a complaint about a product sent to the warehouse, Bras Harriot adds that the basis of the complaint would need to be studied first; since TheCocobox’s position is the same as that of a final consumer and not a reseller of products (the product price is the same as at the origin, they only charge a service fee for the management). "Purchases are sent to final consumers and delivered to their homes under a strictly personal consumption regime, so initially, there would be no responsibility for purchases in listings that, as mentioned, should already be regulated from the source platform."
As for the products that are easier to counterfeit, the most commonly seen on the market, according to Bras Harriot, are perfumes, cosmetics, and clothing. This happens more frequently with direct purchases from Asian sites than with Amazon USA, whose marketplace has very clear policies regarding brand use and listing regulation.
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