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~ B2C Europe ~

HOW CAN SELLING

TO THE US HELP TO

EXPAND YOUR

E-COMMERCE

BUSINESS?

By Nienke van Meekeren, B2C Europe // Photo’s: iStock

Worldwide e-commerce continues to grow rapidly each year. Purchasing online is recognised
to be the preferred method in most countries. It is even predicted that by 2040, 95% of
purchases will be facilitated by e-commerce . For online stores, it is therefore wise not only

focus on domestic sales, but also on cross-border sales. Cross-border e-commerce is a smart
way for retailers to create a wider market, leading directly to increased sales.

n e-commerce market with excellent growth States hit $525 billion, an increase of 34% from $391 billion
potential is the United States. The country is in 2016 . This number is expected to rise to $735 billion in
Athe home market to many large e-commerce 2023. In contrast, it appears that the United States’ share
companies and a popular destination for online cross- of global sales is decreasing. This is mainly due to the fact
border spending worldwide. Expanding your e-com- that e-commerce sales in the Asia Pacific are increasing
merce business to the United States offers enormous enormously due to rapid urbanisation and technological
potential, but at the same time the expectations of the advancements.
American online shopper must be taken into account.
It is important to keep in mind that selling products However, due to the very high quality of logistics infra-
to foreign customers is not the same as selling prod- structure and the high demand for cross-border retailers, the
ucts to domestic consumers. After all, consumers in United States still has a very successful e-commerce market.
every country have different habits and preferences The country is led by e-commerce giants Amazon and eBay,
with regards to online shopping. By gaining insight of which Amazon is by far the most popular retailer in the
into the American consumer’s values, a targeted United States. The company is also in pole position when it
policy can be pursued in order to aid the growth of comes to American e-commerce turnover. In 2018, Amazon
your e-commerce business overseas. generated more than $235 billion through retail e-com-
merce sales. eBay, on the other hand, is the most popular
E-commerce market share online marketplace in the United States.
Despite the misconception that the United States is the
largest market for e-commerce, it is in fact China which Know your audience
is the world’s biggest e-commerce market and the United With one simple click, a US shopper can enter any Eu-
States is number two . Last year online sales in the United ropean online store. Because the contemporary American

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