The Wild, Wild East

By Karen Jackson

4 Tips to Help Your Brand Sell in China

Eager to take your e-commerce business international, particularly into China? Here are four tips to help you get started:

1. Research the shopping habits, culture, history and political environment of China. Be quick to spot pitfalls and avoid them. Getting a better understanding of the Chinese people and culture is the fundamental thing to do. Take a look at Groupon’s efforts in China if you’re curious about what not to do when entering the country.

2. Understand the Chinese, but don’t act as if you’re Chinese. Remember that you’re an American or Australian or French business and you represent the values of your country. Don’t go too far down the road of localization. Your nationality is what fundamentally differentiates you from local competitors. Chinese consumers want to buy your products — often at a higher price — because they want the safety, quality, technology, fashion or whatever other characteristics and features you can offer.

3. Many retailers go into China thinking, “The country has 1.3 billion people; if only 0.1 percent of them buy my product by sheer chance, we’ll be rich beyond our wildest dreams.” It doesn’t happen like that. Chinese consumers, due to their cultural upbringing, move in flocks. They like to do everything together. Chinese consumers usually follow the mainstream. Therefore, you have no such chance of taking a 0.1 percent market share. If your product doesn’t appeal to 30 percent of your target demographic, you’re dead in the water. Try figuring out 10 reasons why a Chinese consumer in your target demographic would want to buy your products. If you easily come up with 10 answers, well, it’s time to get on a plane to Beijing.

4. Ensure that you have an adequate budget in place for the launch of your business. Don’t expect to fund growth from cash flow right away. You won’t be alone, as the Chinese marketplace is constantly in heated competition. In retail, you really need to go big or go home. — Karen Jackson

China’s economy has been booming as of late. It’s proven prosperous for a once virtually nonexistent majority of the Chinese population — its middle class. China’s middle class is growing in number, acquiring wealth and improving its standard of living at unprecedented rates. Looking out over the next decade or two, the Chinese middle class is expected to wield enormous spending power as it reaches 600 million people to 800 million people — with more than $2.7 trillion in disposable income.

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International E-Commerce: The Wild, Wild East