A new way to play social e-commerce on an independent site, with high innovation opportunities to reappear!

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about some exciting new developments in the cross-border e-commerce world:

• TikTok, a short-form video platform loved by users around the world, has just opened its doors to the public for merchandising in eight overseas countries.
• Not to be outdone, YouTube has introduced the YouTube Store feature, which now allows viewers to purchase products directly through the links under the videos.
• For independent websites, this means an opportunity to reach new heights has arrived.

All of these hot topics revolve around one core: how to utilize social media and short video platforms to bring more business opportunities to independent sites and open up a new world of social e-commerce. According to Accenture, a top research organization, by 2025, global social e-commerce will grow three times faster than traditional e-commerce, and the market size will reach a staggering $1.2 trillion. It is obvious that the strategy of combining social e-commerce and independent sites will inject a powerful new impetus into the development of cross-border e-commerce.

Social e-commerce fire escalates as seeding frenzy continues

According to a Bazaarvoice report from February this year, surveying 14,000 people, it was found that three-quarters of people's shopping is heavily influenced by social media. For example, 65% people will be seeded while reading a post, 61% will buy something they randomly swiped, and 60% will shop through a referral link or Netflix recommendation.

Simply put, social e-commerce integrates sharing, chatting and other social actions into the online shopping process. With "people" as the core, it promotes content and product updates, allows products to show their value, and creates a "place" for effective brand communication through social media. High-quality content from brands and online celebrities can help consumers make decisions. This kind of e-commerce with social qualities not only changes our view of "people, goods and field", but also makes it easier for brands to attract customers and realize rapid sales.

When it comes to buyers, Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2010) is the mainstay of social e-commerce. As a member of the digital age, Gen Z is not only large in number, but they are also very conscious of their personal preferences and are willing to spend a lot of money on their favorite products.A Forbes survey in 2021 revealed that 97% of Gen Z use social media as the main channel to get shopping inspiration.

Brands Achieve Accelerated Growth with Independent Sites & Social Ecommerce

Social short video platforms now allow creators and merchants to lead consumers directly to independent websites to buy things through links on their videos. This doesn't just allow merchants to promote their own products on short videos themselves, but also to attract buyers through those who are influential online celebrities in their field. Previously, netizens may only help brands become more famous, but now, fans can jump directly to the merchant's independent site to place orders through the links in the netizen's video or their store.

Using video content to attract customers and then directing them to purchase, this type of marketing greatly simplifies the sales process and gives merchants on independent sites more sales opportunities! When video platforms offer more marketing opportunities, merchants have more ways to sell and no longer rely solely on traditional e-commerce platforms. Combining a variety of methods such as traffic from short videos and search engine marketing, merchants can operate more flexibly and utilize private domain data to drive sales growth. Now is a great time for cross-border merchants who want to open a standalone site to quickly monetize their new marketplace.

Capitalize on the social e-commerce boom and make sure payments aren't a barrier

A good shopping experience requires not only great products and services, but also smooth logistics and payment processes. However, many independent merchants tend to focus only on products and promotion, but neglect the payment aspect of the experience. In order not to let the payment problem slow down the development of the independent website, and in the case of cost control, it is very critical to pick a safe, efficient and convenient global payment service.