Amazon employs advantages to attract consumers

The search for high quality, personalized products and the special privileges available to members of particular online shopping groups are driving the growth of cross-border e-commerce in China, according to a report issued by Amazon China.

Chinese consumers' brand awareness and concepts of quality have become increasingly mature. Growing awareness of what's available to consumers in other markets has led consumers to prefer buying high-quality products from overseas vendors, the report said.

Amazon has pledged to provide Chinese shoppers with high-quality, authentic products from leading international brands by gathering deals from Amazon China and four overseas sites including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany.

The firm, based in Seattle, in the United States, guarantees the quality of products it sells--and some 80 percent of the Chinese who use Amazon cite that guarantee as a primary reason for their choice.

Gu Fan, vice-president of Amazon China, also noted that: "Chinese consumers' demands have become more and more diversified and personalized. For instance, they are no longer limited to choose a single color as colorful products become consumers' new favorite."

Gu added that affordable luxury brands are witnessing significant growth, with the annual sales of men's clothing brand Boss Orange rising 13 times year-on-year, and Brooks Brothers and Michael Kors quadrupling over the same period.

In addition, the special deals available to members－a concept known as the membership economy－is also driving the growth of cross-border online shopping, the report said. Amazon launched Amazon Prime here in October 2016, making China the site of the company's first unlimited free cross-border shipping membership program globally.

As the company had hoped, the membership service has stimulated the growth of Amazon's business in China. The average transaction volume, purchasing frequency and categories of Prime members are significantly higher than nonmembers, and they are more sensitive to cross-border shopping festivals such as Black Friday.

Most of the Prime members are young people born in the 1980s and 1990s, who are well-educated, and pursing a high-quality lifestyle with high incomes. Prime members from Beijing, Guangdong, Shanghai and Zhejiang are spending the most on cross-border online shopping.

"Amazon Prime members enjoy quicker delivery, exclusive deals and more discounts. We will beef up more measures to guarantee the rights of these members, and boost Chinese online purchases overseas," said Gu.

Gu added that the selections of international brands at Amazon Global Stores have increased from 80,000 to 210,000 in the past half year. In the year since it open in China, the Prime service has saved more than 500 million yuan ($79.4 million) in shipping costs for its members.

Elaine Chang, president of Amazon China, said in an earlier interview that the company is expanding its city coverage, moving beyond first-and second-tier cities to third-and fourth-tier cities. It will continue to innovate in response to the demands of local customers, sellers, developers and enterprises.