60% of sellers' order volume declines, multiple factors affect sellers' performance in 2022

Against the backdrop of continued high global inflationary pressure and depressed consumer markets in Europe and the United States, the performance of cross-border merchants in the second half of 2022 will still face multiple challenges such as rising costs, reduced demand, and falling profits.

After surveying tens of thousands of cross-border practitioners, covering multiple aspects such as the market, platform, logistics, and financing, the 2022 Cross-border E-commerce Annual Report was finally completed. This article will bring you the first part of the report - an analysis of the current situation of cross-border sellers.

In the second half of 2022 , under the impact of multiple factors such as the epidemic and high inflation , cross-border sellers face multiple challenges: exchange rate fluctuations, consumption downgrades, and declining order profits. However, with the support of national policies, the gradual improvement of the cross-border e-commerce service ecosystem, and the continued favor of the capital market, opportunities in the cross-border e-commerce industry still exist.

Nowadays, the cross-border e-commerce industry is in the pain period of transformation. In the face of challenges and opportunities, in 2022, while cross-border sellers are looking for ways to transform in accordance with the laws of market development, they will also regard cost reduction and efficiency improvement as a conservative development strategy.

Overall, more than 60% of cross-border companies performed worse than expected in 2022.

The survey shows that nearly 70% of sellers had revenues below 500,000 in the second half of the year, and their profitability has not improved compared to the first half of the year. In this cold winter, only a few sellers can achieve steady growth, and survey data shows that only 8% of sellers have revenues of more than 5 million.

2022 is coming to an end, but the above-mentioned unfavorable factors are still continuing to exert their influence on the cross-border e-commerce industry, and cross-border sellers are deeply troubled by them.

Based on the increasing risks of operating on Amazon’s single platform, the survey shows that nearly 60% of sellers believe that developing independent websites and deploying overseas social media are wise choices.

Among them, TikTok, as the fastest growing Chinese overseas social media platform in the world, has increasing overseas influence and huge traffic, making its TikTok e-commerce launched in the e-commerce track even more popular among sellers.

As of the first half of 2022, TikTok's e-commerce GMV has exceeded 1 billion US dollars. In the second half of 2022, during the Black Friday promotion season, TikTok's e-commerce data showed that from November 21 to November 28, TikTok's e-commerce cross-border GMV increased by 126%, and the order volume increased by 138%, setting a new sales record. In addition, the popularity of TikTok's e-commerce year-end promotion continues to soar. From this point of view, TikTok's e-commerce has great potential for future development.

(TT123 is committed to providing TikTok sellers with first-hand information and practical knowledge. It helps sellers grasp the latest trends of TikTok and master social e-commerce.)

At the same time, independent websites have become the first choice for platform sellers to seek profits and avoid risks by virtue of their natural advantages, and are rapidly rising. The trend of independent websites can be seen in the financial reports of many big sellers.

• Lechuang: In the first half of 2022, the revenue of the independent station reached 281 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.2%, and the per capita consumption amount reached 2,518 yuan.
• Zebao: The revenue of the independent site reached 48 million yuan in the first half of 2022.
• Anker: In the first half of 2022, the revenue of the independent site reached 215 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30.03%.