The early COVID-19 pandemic reminded eCommerce businesses of the lack of sourcing flexibility. Borders had closed, and that caused problems with the distribution of products. All these bottlenecks caused immense challenges to the global economy.
Globalization was in danger; however, two years on, it has nonetheless survived. Yet, a new challenge is starting to affect global economies again.
This is the war Russia started by invading Ukraine. The result of this invasion of an independent country has led to massive and heretofore unseen sanctions hitting Russia, mostly Putin and his gang of oligarchs. The knock-on effects of these sanctions will not spare the West.
Moreover, it will lead to a considerable downturn in the economy. However, how can a virtual assistant counter some of the effects of the ailing economy and cross-border eCommerce business and survive yet another challenge?
What is cross-border eCommerce?
Cross-border eCommerce refers to the online trade of businesses such as retailers or brands; consumers are commonly referred to as B2C. This includes online trade between two firms, mostly brands or wholesalers, called B2B.
Last, it can also refer to the online trade between two private individuals: this is known as C2C. The trader will operate from a website. This can be their website or marketplace site, such as Amazon or eBay, or trading as an Amazon FBA business, or they can trade from another party located in another country.
What are the risks for cross-border eCommerce?
Nothing is without risks: cross-border eCommerce has its own set of issues. These issues include:
Fraud
This is one of the biggest concerns for merchants when purchases are made from abroad. To overcome this, a reliable payment service is needed. However, this system should know the local clients’ hidden costs.
For example, standard payment systems include Skrill, PayPal, credit cards, and bank transfers via Wise. PayPal, Google Pay, credit cards, and bank transfers often have hidden costs – the consumer must pay additional taxes.
These can differ from country to country and will increase the product’s products. Besides the cross-border taxes, there could also be card network fees and other transactional costs, including delivery fees.
Logistics and reverse logistics
There are logistics for mailing the products; however, how to deal with returns should be considered. Ideally, the company would want a reliable name; this needs to be clearly stated in its policy.
The growth of cross-border eCommerce
The traditional trade model has been replaced by a new business model – cross-border eCommerce. During the pandemic, eCommerce saw a massive increase.
People were restricted, spending more time at home, either by choice or due to regulations. More so, two years ago, in 2020, there were more than two billion online shoppers.
This is some 60% of the global population, who spend 13.5% of their income online shopping. That percentage is equal to 3.4 trillion dollars.
Not only did the United States see growth in the eCommerce sector, but countries such as China and France also had massive gains.
China
Cross-border eCommerce in China will be worth 12 trillion yuan in 2021, although growing government interference could well impact this amount. Companies are using cross-border trade to bypass local agencies’ agencies.
The government is closing this gap as their domestic market has been benefiting from paying taxes on imports via this method of shopping.
France
It is one of the fastest-growing markets for eCommerce in France. Around 50% of consumers in France buy via cross-border merchants.
Moreover, the cross-border eCommerce market was 143 billion euros in 2019 and 146 billion euros in 2020. Additionally, that equals 25.5% of total online sales in Europe.
They mostly buy from Germany, the United Kingdom, China, and the United States. However, France is much smaller than China or Australia in cross-border eCommerce sales.
What is the possible future of cross-border eCommerce?
The biggest challenge facing all the various merchants is the war in Ukraine. As mentioned before, there are severe sanctions against Russia.
However, many Western companies, such as H&M, IKEA, and UK online retailer Asos, have suspended all sales to Russia. Other brands such as Nike, Apple, and Chanel have stopped selling in Russia, and Visa and MasterCard have also halted their services in Russia.
Many of these companies ended their trade with Russia since serving clients there became too difficult.
More so, Vogue Ukraine, in an Instagram post, asked luxury brands to halt their trade in Russia”: Showing your conscience and choosing humanity over monetary benefits is the only reasonable stand one can take in confronting the violent behavior of Russia…
Moreover, Vogue UA appeals to the global fashion industry to not keep silent during these dark times as it has the most vital voice.”
It is significant once” ns to take note of
What is already emerging is rising costs and issues with the supply chain. Just as the pandemic impacted international trade, the war in Ukraine has already led to problems for the sector. As a result, delivery fees have increased if deliveries have not been suspended in some areas.
The concern is that should the conflict escalate, the trade will be deeply impacted. However, that is one area of the globe. The impact of rising oil prices globally will affect trade worldwide.
However, the problems facing the eCommerce sector are not just limited to costs and delivery problems but also include the risk associated with cyber attacks. If not directly, it can also be indirectly; payment systems, banks, and even delivery services will be targeted, and the whole system could halt.
How to prepare and lessen your risk
The key is to remain agile. However, having an onsite team makes this problematic. More so, even though it is great to have a group of talented individuals at your beck and call, this is also a premium luxury.
The reality is that outsourcing in the form of virtual assistants offers a cost-effective staffing solution but also flexibility to a company.
What is a virtual assistant?
A virtual assistant or remote assistant is a person who works remotely. Such a person could be anywhere worldwide, as long as their internet is available and reliable.
It is preferable to hire a virtual assistant living in a similar time zone as you. If you are trading in an English-speaking market, a native speaker is the best choice.
Although not at hand, these workers can complete tasks like onsite employees. The beauty of hiring someone not present in the body is that many hassles and costs are eliminated.
For instance, costs such as taxes, benefits (from holidays to a thirteenth check), and pension contributions can be avoided.
Additionally, there is no need for an office or a fully fitted workstation, which includes computers and mobile phones. The virtual assistant works remotely from their own home office.
Benefits of a virtual assistant for an eCommerce business
There are many benefits a virtual assistant can offer an eCommerce store. These benefits can range from completing the admin tasks to accessing great people at lower rates to do more specialist tasks.
A prominent benefit of hiring virtual assistants for an eCommerce store is that they can assist with managing and running the online store efficiently. They can be involved in sorting, organizing, and cataloging products.
The virtual assistants could also provide up-to-date discount offers and product coupons based on the owners’ requests. The virtual assistant owners could also upload and update inventory details, logistics, and stock.
Additionally, they could work on various eCommerce platforms, for instance, WordPress or Shopify. More so, the business owner gains access to great talent at a reduced price. Virtual assistants complete various tasks such as content creation, social media management, or managing orders and clients. This affords you the flexibility to upscale or downscale as your situation changes.
The bottom line
You need to be flexible and find ways of reducing your business expenses. The eCommerce trade is still set to follow a solid upward growth, regardless of the war in Europe. The Covid-10 pandemic has shown that the sector has performed well despite the challenges.
The war could prove somewhat more challenging and linger longer than the virus. Notwithstanding, with a virtual assistant, you can increase your chance of success. A virtual assistant is a highly cost-effective staffing solution that allows companies to onboard great talent they would not have been able to hire for onsite work.
More so, this is also much easier when the need comes to let go of this consultant. That ability to be agile in business can help you to survive.
Let Aristo Sourcing help you.
Book a call if you want to hire a virtual assistant or discuss your situation and have our outsourcing expert assist you.
We offer a complimentary discovery call via our outsourcing expert. Our specialist will help you, offering his decade of experience in the outsourcing sector and, more so, working with some of the best-known brands globally.
Book your call today.
