Since 2021, global logistics, payment, website construction and other basic service facilities have been gradually improved. In addition, the proportion of global online consumption has continued to increase after the epidemic. The transaction data of independent e-commerce sites in many European and American countries, Australia, Japan and South Korea have shown a rapid growth trend. According to incomplete statistics, the current independent site market size has accounted for about 40% of the overseas e-commerce market. Among them, Chinese overseas brands play an important role: there are fast fashion and 3C industry brands that have always focused on independent sites and are renowned worldwide for their product strength and brand power; there are also mature brands that have expanded their independent site layout by selling well on e-commerce platforms; and there are also cutting-edge brands that focus on the amphibious development of platforms and independent sites. Obviously, in the new era of competition for existing market share and tightened platform supervision, multi-channel layout and brand transformation have become the general trend.
The opportunities and dangers of independent websites As an important channel that takes both into account, independent websites can not only break away from the constraints of third-party platform rules and directly reach consumers, but also continuously build momentum for the brand by creating a brand-exclusive private domain traffic ecosystem, becoming the choice of many sellers for overseas layout: On the one hand, with the improvement of technology, the threshold for building an independent website has been lowered , making it the first choice for many start-up sellers going overseas. According to industry sources, a senior executive of a large company chose to enter the cross-border e-commerce industry in the form of an independent website after leaving the company. On the other hand, in order to avoid the anxiety of over-reliance on a single channel, many big sellers will continue to increase their independent station business when conducting multi-channel layout . According to Anker's 2024 semi-annual report, the revenue of its six independent stations reached 925 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 102.85%. At the same time, data shows that in 2024, my country has over 120,000 cross-border e-commerce entities operating overseas markets and over 200,000 independent websites. However, while independent websites are developing rapidly, some overseas independent websites are facing challenges in traffic competition, technology updates, logistics efficiency, and payment security. Among them, payment, as the last link in the user purchase chain, is directly related to whether traffic can be converted into sales. The smoothness and security of payment have a great impact on users' willingness to place orders and repurchase. According to Riskified risk data statistics, 15% of orders are lost during the payment process. Based on the feedback from domestic brands going global, the three most common problems faced by independent website sellers during the payment process include:First, the abandonment rate is high and the traffic conversion effect is poor. Some sellers reported that after the optimization of their independent sites, the ranking and traffic have increased, but the conversion effect is not good, and the abandonment rate even exceeded 90%. Airwallex's survey shows that in the global market in 2024, 93% of consumers said that whether the product is priced in local currency will affect their purchasing decisions, and 77% of consumers mentioned that if they cannot use their preferred payment method, they may give up shopping. Second, risk control problems such as chargebacks and frauds lead to revenue losses. According to industry feedback, since independent sites lack systematic rules and guarantee transactions are mostly borne by merchants themselves, risk control logic and infrastructure are not yet mature. If there is a large amount of e-commerce fraud, it may lead to order chargebacks, customer friction and other problems, which will affect independent site revenue. According to Riskified data, in 2024, independent site sellers will lose up to $25 billion in revenue due to e-commerce fraud. Third, the energy for multi-channel operation is limited, and it is difficult to take into account the improvement of the payment process. For boutique sellers whose businesses cover multiple regions, multi-channel and refined operations have consumed a lot of energy and time. Therefore, they often find it difficult to take into account the more complex payment areas of their businesses. They lack investment, professional knowledge and processing experience, and are not perfect in related issues such as service and compliance. From this point of view, finding the best assistant in the field of independent website payment is undoubtedly the key for overseas sellers to avoid "danger" and turn "opportunity". Gaining the trust of consumers through payment It is understood that the shopping process of independent websites includes: visiting the store, browsing products, adding products to the cart, and placing an order and paying. Among them, payment is the last hurdle in the order process, and the buyer's shopping experience depends largely on the payment success rate. Therefore, many independent website sellers will choose a suitable payment partner to win the trust of consumers from this link. The practical feedback from independent site sellers and a professional and mature overseas service team are the hub for building a one-stop payment solution. As a leading global payment and financial platform, Airwallex has helped more than 100,000 companies achieve high-quality growth in the past decade as a global acquiring expert. Among them are world-renowned brands such as SHEIN, Brex, Rippling, Navan, as well as industry newcomers that are still in a stage of rapid development. Airwallex also has corresponding solutions for the cross-border payment pain points mentioned above. First, mainstream payment methods are fully covered to conform to the payment habits of local consumers and to address the pain of "high shopping abandonment rate" . Airwallex's global payment solution supports more than 160 payment methods in over 180 countries and regions, and also has automatic currency conversion functions and Shopify's no-jump payment function to simplify the payment process and provide consumers with a better shopping experience, thereby increasing sales conversion rates. An environmentally friendly retail e-commerce brand said that after connecting its payment solution to its Shopify independent station for 90 days, its repurchase users increased by 36% . Second, continue to deeply optimize risk control strategies , customize risk thresholds, and reduce losses caused by refund fraud, malicious refusal to pay, and other operations. Airwallex's risk control engine combines a variety of tools to continuously identify risks for merchants and improve payment success rates. It also provides default anti-fraud strategies. Sellers can customize risk preferences based on their actual business models, set rules for triggering 3DS authentication, establish black and white lists, conduct manual reviews when necessary, and balance success rates and fraud rates to reduce fraud losses and increase payment authorization rates . Third, the main member institutions of the world's mainstream card groups and the local professional service team will assist in payment compliance optimization. Airwallex holds more than 60 financial licenses and payment permits issued by regulatory authorities in major economies around the world, covering more than 80% of global GDP. It is also a major member of major card organizations such as VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and UnionPay International, ensuring safe and stable payment collection. With the support of their local elite teams, overseas brands can also better build one-stop operational capabilities, including order capture, currency exchange and global payment capabilities, improve operational efficiency and reduce costs. Australian luggage brand July has used Airwallex's cloud remittance solution to collect and settle payments from global customers in multiple currencies and pay funds to international suppliers, avoiding expensive currency exchange fees, increasing customer loyalty, and successfully achieving explosive growth overseas . The latest data shows that by September 2024, Airwallex's annual transaction volume has exceeded US$100 billion , making it one of the Forbes Cloud 100 for the fourth consecutive year and one of CNBC's "Top Global Fintech Companies" for the second consecutive year. At the same time, Airwallex was selected as one of Fortune's most socially influential startups in China in 2024, and is the only cross-border payment company on the list. If you want to know more about Airwallex's global acquiring solutions, click on the picture below to register for free and our professional acquiring experts will answer your questions.
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