Because the Internet + economic globalization has profoundly changed the traditional industrial form and industrial organization. At present, as a new form of trade, digital trade has rapidly increased its share in global trade, subverting the global value chain division of labor and profit distribution pattern, and triggering the accelerated reconstruction of the global industrial chain supply chain.

Especially in the context of the global pandemic of the new crown epidemic, digital trade represented by cross-border e-commerce has broken through spatial and physical barriers, showing unique advantages and resilience, and has made outstanding contributions to the recovery and growth of global trade.

Differences 1. Different costs

Traditional foreign trade mainly focuses on a large number of goods, and then through the overseas logistics industry to carry out multi-level distributors, and finally reach the end customer (company or individual); while cross-border e-commerce is directly facing the end customer.

2. Different processes

In traditional trade, the process of import and export trade is complicated, while cross-border e-commerce requires to avoid or reduce the process as much as possible, and can even send goods directly to customers through direct mail like Chinese e-commerce.

3. Different communication platforms

Traditional trade uses information flow advertising platforms such as wholesale news, e-mails, and trade fairs to carry out communication and sales; while cross-border e-commerce will directly sell products to customers through platforms such as Amazon and wish.

4. Different models

Since traditional trade uses information flow advertising to carry out communication, its basic model is: B2B, while cross-border e-commerce reduces intermediaries and mostly sells directly on the platform, and its main model is: B2C.

Obviously, the cross-border e-commerce model is quite different from the traditional foreign trade e-commerce model, but it has a certain overlap with traditional foreign trade e-commerce in some areas. Different from traditional foreign trade, what is the cross-border e-commerce model?

Cross-border e-commerce business processes are divided into import and export. Similarly, the cross-border e-commerce model can also be divided into: import cross-border e-commerce and export cross-border e-commerce. For import cross-border e-commerce, Chinese customers usually browse the online shopping websites of foreign merchants, add products and submit orders, and then the foreign merchants directly send international express to the customers. For export cross-border e-commerce, it is just the opposite. Chinese merchants send goods directly to the hands of foreign store buyers through international express.