Industry Background and Development:
With the widespread adoption of global e-commerce, the market size of cross-border e-commerce continues to expand. Technological innovations such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain are driving innovation and development in the industry. Enterprises are actively exploring emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and other regions to find new growth opportunities.

Industry Scale and Growth Data in 2024:

Continuously growing market size: According to the forecast by the China Industry Research Institute, the market size of China’s cross-border e-commerce is expected to reach 17.9 trillion yuan in 2024, further increasing from 16.8 trillion yuan in 2023.

Concurrent development of B2B and B2C models: While the transaction mode of China’s cross-border e-commerce is mainly B2B, the proportion of B2C models is increasing year by year. With the rise of brands going global, the B2C market is expected to show a significant increase.

Positive development of cross-border e-commerce import and export: The scale of China’s cross-border e-commerce import and export exceeded 2 trillion yuan for the first time in 2022, and reached 1.7 trillion yuan in the first three quarters of 2023, demonstrating a continuous growth trend.

Expansion of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive test zones: As of the end of 2022, China has established 165 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive test zones, covering 31 cities and regions. These test zones provide replicable and scalable experiences for the development of cross-border e-commerce through institutional and management innovations.

Rise of domestic cross-border e-commerce platforms: Domestic cross-border e-commerce platforms such as SHEIN, AliExpress, TikTok Shop, and Temu are leading Chinese companies in accelerating the expansion of overseas markets.

Innovation and Transformation of Industry Business Models:

Integration of social e-commerce: Cross-border e-commerce enterprises combine the influence of social media to promote and sell products through platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, leveraging the spread effect of social networks to increase sales.

Live streaming e-commerce: Using live streaming technology for product demonstrations and interactions to improve the conversion rate of users’ purchases. For example, showcasing the actual usage of products through live streaming, answering audience questions, and providing real-time interaction.

Domestic companies have successfully implemented the following strategies:

Product globalization, service globalization, and platform globalization.

Chinese e-commerce globalization mainly relies on mature overseas channels such as Amazon, and the proportion of domestic platforms is gradually expanding. Overseas platforms including Amazon, eBay, and Wish account for about 50%, while the share of domestic globalization platforms led by AliExpress has gradually increased from 3% in 2017 to 10% in 2022. With the increase in overseas traffic costs and intensified competition, independent station shares have shown a downward trend.

As the advantages of the original platforms diminish, sellers are shifting some of their focus to domestic globalization platforms such as AliExpress and TEMU. Chinese e-commerce globalization has evolved from product output to business model output. The live streaming e-commerce platform TikTok Shop was launched in Southeast Asia, the UK, and other places in 2021 and has become a leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia.

Industry Challenges and Opportunities:
Opportunities and challenges in the logistics industry chain:

Rising transportation costs: Frequent global supply chain crises, such as blocked shipping routes and shortages of transportation tools, have led to increased transportation costs, affecting the profit margins of cross-border e-commerce.

Stability of the supply chain: Factors such as geopolitical conflicts and trade protectionism have increased the instability of the supply chain, and logistics companies need to respond to the risk of supply chain interruptions.

Rising customer acquisition costs and platform compliance risks:

Rising costs of on-platform advertising. On-platform advertising refers to advertisements placed on e-commerce platforms (such as Amazon, Walmart, etc.). They are aimed at groups with strong purchasing intentions, have relatively accurate targeting, and can quickly increase sales conversions. However, their brand promotion capabilities are relatively weak, and users are less likely to be converted into brand followers. According to Sellics data, from 2021 to 2022, the CPC (cost per click) on Amazon’s US site increased by 22% to 87 cents. However, compared with platforms such as Google and Walmart, they still have certain advantages.

Iteration of off-platform promotion methods. Conventional methods such as Facebook groups, Google SEO, deal websites, etc., have seen declining popularity, and user attention has shifted to new types of social media such as graphics, short videos, live streaming, etc. According to the latest research report from the Pew Research Center, TikTok has rapidly become one of the most used social media platforms among American teenagers, second only to YouTube. In contrast, the proportion of teenagers using Facebook has dropped from 71% to 32% compared to the survey conducted in 2014-2015.

Talent Demand Analysis:
Overall trend of talent demand in cross-border e-commerce:

With the rapid development of the cross-border e-commerce industry, there is a significant talent gap in talent demand. According to the “14th Five-Year Plan” for the development of e-commerce, it is estimated that by 2025, the number of employees in China’s e-commerce field will reach 70 million, and the talent gap in cross-border e-commerce will reach 9.85 million.

Key positions and skill requirements:

Logistics and supply chain management

Market analysis and localization strategies

E-commerce platform operation and optimization

Compliance and risk management

Demand for technology and innovation talents:

Data analysis and big data

Artificial intelligence and machine learning

User experience design (UX)

Recruitment Strategies and Methods:
To attract and recruit these key talents, companies need to formulate wise recruitment strategies. This includes determining recruitment goals, utilizing multi-channel recruitment strategies, strengthening talent attraction and brand building, etc. Corporate culture, employee development opportunities, and competitive compensation and benefits are all important factors for attracting talents.

Determination of recruitment goals and plans

Multi-channel recruitment strategy

Campus recruitment

Social media and professional network platforms

Industry conferences and events

Talent attraction and brand building

Corporate culture and values

Employee development and training opportunities

Competitive compensation and benefits

The recruitment of talents in the cross-border e-commerce industry is a complex and multi-dimensional process, requiring companies to continuously adjust and optimize their recruitment strategies to adapt to the rapidly changing market environment. By deeply analyzing industry trends, clarifying talent needs, and adopting effective recruitment and training measures, companies will be able to stand out in the competitive market.