Cross-Border eCommerce to Exceed $2 Trillion for First Time in 2023

The value of cross-border eCommerce will exceed $2.1 trillion in 2023, from $1.9 trillion in 2022, according to a new study from Juniper Research. This growth of over 13% in a single year reflects the increasing success of marketplaces that offer goods across borders, as well as the rising viability of cross-border sales as an eCommerce model.

The new research found that as eCommerce models diversify, including models such as buy now pay later and click and collect, cross-border options must also keep pace, by agreeing on local distribution and payment partnerships. The research recommends that cross-border eCommerce vendors offer localized eCommerce models, or they will lose out to options that better serve consumer appetites. The marketplace model, where large vendors, such as Amazon or Wish.com, sell goods to users on behalf of cross-border vendors, will be critical to growth. This model represents an easy way to access a large audience while ensuring that accepting payments and other logistical issues are seamlessly handled.

“The marketplace model within eCommerce takes the complexity away, meaning that cross-border merchants can provide localized service. As such, marketplaces are an excellent way to gain immediate access to an existing user base, albeit one that can be restrictive compared with having a direct-to-consumer relationship,“ elaborated research co-author Nick Maynard.

The research found that physical goods will account for over 97% of cross-border eCommerce spending in 2023, with digital goods making up the remainder. It identified the maturity of cross‑border export of physical goods as a business model as a major factor in this difference, as well as increasingly cost‑conscious end users. The research recommends that payments vendors support a wide range of local payment methods, to capitalize on this sizeable opportunity.