DHL: Cross-border e-commerce to grow at 25 percent through 2020

Cross-border e-commerce will increase at an annual average rate of 25 percent between 2015 and 2020 (from US$300 billion to $900 billion), according to research published last week by DHL Express. That rate is twice the pace of domestic e-commerce retailers and manufacturers in the six countries featured in the study, and underscores the importance of trade in an era when protectionism seems to be on the rise.

Faster shipping options, such as express shipping and customized last-mile options correlated to 60 percent higher growth rates than e-retailers who didn’t offer such options.

“Shipping cross-border is much, much easier than many retailers believe, and we see every day the positive impact that selling to international markets can have on our customers’ business growth,” said Ken Allen, CEO, DHL Express. “We also see that virtually every product category has the potential to upgrade to premium, both by developing higher quality luxury editions and by offering superior levels of service quality to meet the demands of less-price-sensitive customers. The opportunity to ‘go global’ and ‘go premium’ is there for many retailers in all markets.”

DHL’s study found that supply and demand were increasingly excluding the “middleman” in favor of direct B2C e-commerce. Manufacturers that take advantage of e-commerce to move to “direct retail models that offer their products online to the end customer can expect to grow 30 percent faster in cross-border e-commerce than other retailer groups.

Those interested in learning more about air freight in 2017, should join us at Cargo Facts Asia in Shanghai, 25 – 26 April.  To register, or for more information, go to CargoFactsAsia.com.