Chinese eCommerce market stronger than ever

Chinese eCommerce market stronger than ever

China’s dominance of global eCommerce has been reinforced by the success of the recently concluded Double Eleven shopping festival.

The festival, also known as Singles Day, saw a range of new sales records and trends.

They included Chinese online payment clearinghouse NetsUnion and card payment giant China UnionPay reporting online payments worth 22.32 trillion yuan (about $3.48 trillion) during the period November 1 to 11, according to data from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).

Major e-commerce platforms also recorded new sales highs.

Alibaba’s e-commerce platform Tmall generated 540.3 billion yuan (about $84.54 billion) in gross merchandise volume (GMV), while one of the major winners was JD.com, another Chinese e-commerce giant, which hit a new record of over 349.1 billion yuan – almost 30 per cent higher than 2020.

According to JD.com, over 43,000 merchants saw their turnover rise by more than 200 percent year on year, and the number of new small and medium-sized brands increased more than four-fold.

Among key new trends was the increasing focus on sustainability with JD.com claiming to have reduced carbon emissions by 26,000 tonnes, by using recyclable packaging and new-energy cargo vans.

Logistics providers were also kept hugely busy during the November 1 to 11 period, handling 4.78 billion parcels – a year-on-year increase of more than 20 per cent.

This is backed up by the recently published Pitney Bowes Shipping Index 2021 which showed that 3 in every 5 parcels is generated in China. During 2020, China shipped 83.4billion parcels – an increase of 31 per cent year-on-year.

Hurricane Commerce, and its China partner ELI Holdings, is delighted to be supporting some of China’s biggest express and logistics companies including 4PX.

Our cross-border eCommerce data technology solutions are helping to ensure that our customers’ parcels are able to move without friction around the globe.

Increasing regulations mean that shipments must have complete and accurate data sets including product descriptions, HS6 codes and import and export codes.

Incomplete or inaccurate shipments are being held at customs with huge implications in terms of additional costs, operational inefficiencies and dissatisfied consumers.

Aura is Hurricane’s API that covers duty and tax calculations and compliance screenings. Using accurate classifications, a single call can provide real time data on duty and tax, prohibited and restricted goods and denied parties.

Zephyr is Hurricane’s data enhancement API. Lightning quick, this service allows the efficient checking and completion of cross-border shipment data.

Zephyr validates data on an item-by-item basis and provides the necessary customs information allowing bulk items to flow through customs seamlessly.

For more on our solutions, visit: https://hurricanecommerce.com/solutions/

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David SpoTtiswood
Co-founder

Interesting Fact: I am an amateur baker, but I still have no idea how sourduogh starter actually works, and am intrigued how it all reacts together to produce an incredible taste.

Favourite Music: November Rain by Guns ‘n’ Roses.  Going to Wembley with my wife our go to fun thing in our early years, our youth with long hair and rock clothing and not a care in the world other than getting the best spot in the house.

Favourite Quote: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results ” – Albert Einstein

Harry Reilly
Non-exec

Interesting Fact:  I learned Arabic for five years!.

Favourite Music:  A Long December by Counting Crows.  Memory of best family time together in California.

Favourite Quote: “Don’t forget execution, boys. It’s the all-important last 95%”

Tom Lee

Technical Director

Interesting Fact:  I am completely self-taught from a technical skills persepctiuve, and left formal education at 18.

Favourite Music:  Blink 182 – Aliens Exist.  Brings back fond memories of stickly floors and cheap beer.

Favourite Quote: “He sprayed water in my face – thta’s not allowed” – James Haskell.  The whole event surrounding it is hilarious and shows the power of a good wind up

Martin Palmer
Co-Founder

Interesting Fact: I started my working life training to be an accountant but decided I hated numbers. (Ironically I now love them!). I really wanted to join the Hong Kong Police force but couldn’t do that until i was 24. I took a temporary job in Imports and 47 years later here I am.

Favourite Music: There only was one choice. Harry Chapin. Meant a lot to me in my early years as an import broker. We played Chapin for hours and this one seemed to cover so many modes.

Favourite Quote: “No man is an island”

Neil Harmer

Operations Director

Interesting Fact:  As a Geologist my idea of the perfect beach holiday is going to the beach and investigating the rocks in the cliffs behind.

Favourite Music:  Broken Stones – Paul Weller, I’m a huge Paul Weller / The Jam fan; Broken Stones is a very relaxing song, I love the use of the electric piano in it

Favourite Quote: “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today”. This is a great quote by Benjamin Franklin, to have in your head when working through a series of tasks to help keep focused.

Robert Dundas
Sales Director

Interesting Fact:  One of my life goals is to be able to speak French, I’ve been doing Duolingo every day for the last five years, and I’m still rubbish! 

Favourite Music: Where do I even start! Tom Petty Running Down a Dream, this is my top-down driving next to the ocean song

Favourite Quote: “This time will pass”

ASHLEY DEXTER
CFO & Co-founder

Interesting Fact: I was nearly named Battle Dexter (I would have probably now been residing in one of His Majesty’s establishments)

Favourite Music: Even though I spent a few years in the music industry my taste of music was always a cause for concern with my colleagues, so to surprise them all my current favourite is Kids by MGMT (absolute belter)

Favourite Quote: “Quitters never win and winners never quit”

Ian Venner
CTO & Co-founder

Interesting Fact: Runs Red Lantern Records, a not-for-profit, ethical label as a side project, whose artists have regular national BBC radio airplay.

Favourite Music: Tom Waits, pretty much all of his work.  Beautifully observed avante-garde vignettes of life.  Oh, and anything really loud!

Favourite Quote: “It’s not the mountains we climb, but the grit in our shoe that grinds us down” – which sums up taking a business from start-up to enterprise.

Martyn Noble
CEO & Co-founder

Interesting Fact: Played a high standard of semi-professional rugby union (too many years ago now!)

Favourite Music: Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven…my first live gig – Knebworth 11th August 1979, the track never grows old and is the iconic song of ‘hope’ whatever mood you are in when listening too it…and I’m still trying to work out what the lyrics mean!!

Favourite Quote: “Know your customers, Know your People, Know your Numbers” – plagiarised from Sir John Harvey Jones when I met him very early on in my career and values I stick to in my business life.