We estimate that in China—where many shoppers want products from leading international brands, including luxury labels—the number of cross-border ecommerce buyers rose by almost 25% in 2020, as consumers took advantage of both direct sales from brand websites and marketplaces that have opened the vast Chinese market to non-Chinese products.

Already No. 1 in ecommerce, China will overtake the US this year to become the world’s largest overall retail market for the first time.

Global trends shifting shopping, including omnichannel selling, the rise of “New Retail,” cross-border ecommerce, social commerce, and top ecommerce players like Amazon and Alibaba and why marketplaces are dominating worldwide.

Growth of retail sales in China is declining, due to economic and geopolitical challenges, and will not overtake the US until 2021. But retail ecommerce has continued to flourish in some surprising ways under these current circumstances.

We also examine their current strategies for expansion and consider the steps they may take in the future to grow their businesses, both in China and abroad.

All of the EU-16 countries combined represented about the same amount of cross-border ecommerce as China, far and away the most important market for cross-border sales today. We estimate that it will account for $144.11 billion in 2019, up 18.5% from the previous year. Several factors contribute to cross-border shopping in China, which is often, but not exclusively, driven by more affluent consumers.

A March 2020 study conducted by Instituto QualiBest found that 20.0% of Brazil’s internet users stopped buying products online from China. Nearly as many stopped going to indoor (19.9%) and outdoor events (17.8%).

To help speed up delivery times, the company announced in October 2020 that it would charter three weekly flights from China. This will ensure that all orders placed will be delivered within 30 days.

The US is by far the top country for cross-border shopping in Canada, cited by 69% of respondents in a 2019 Flow Commerce survey, followed by China (35%) and the UK (19%). Cross-border buying in Canada remains popular despite protectionist policies that inhibit shopping abroad.