The pandemic situation has even changed companies’ export strategies. We analyze new export strategies for e-commerce: marketplace and social commerce.
Italian e-commerce companies abroad
According to the 2021 Casaleggio Associati Report, the Italian e-commerce companies that sell only in our territory are 51% while those also present on foreign markets are 49%.
18% of the Italian companies examined are present in Spain, 19% in France, 13% United Kingdom, 17% Germany, 10% Switzerland. The USA followed with 9%, China 2% and Japan with 4%.
For the year 2021, a 9.3% growth is expected in the export sector in which e-commerce will play a role of great importance.
Export strategies for e-commerce
78% of companies selling abroad have a site in the language and 12% use a marketplace.
Among the most used marketplaces definitely the giant Amazon followed by Ebay, Alibaba, Zalando and Facebook Marketplace.
Marketplace for e-commerce online
But with the pandemic, the big giants have joined the “Local marketplace”, that is the possibility to shop online but in the shops of the neighborhood; therefore platforms focused on certain geographical areas. An example is Driin.
It’s a platform that brings together all the retail shops in Bologna on which you can shop and receive it, comfortably, at your home.
Amazon remains the most used marketplace by Italian companies that intend to look digital. For this reason, the expansion of the “Bezos giant” is strongly growing in Italy: the company has reached a total number of 40 offices throughout the country and 9,500 employees. Furthermore, it is moving on the partnership front; an example of which is Illimity Bank. Thanks to this agreement, the projects created on the bank account, if converted into Amazon vouchers, return 3% more of the value and, from this year, it will also be possible to apply for a loan for purchases on the marketplace, repayable in 2- 6 installments.
The most growing e-commerce sectors are electronics, fashion and food and also beauty.
Social commerce for online export
As part of the new export strategies for e-commerce there is certainly social commerce, which has been growing since 2020.
In America it is strongly diffused but, also in Italy this trend is spreading: brands that are born as social commerce and assert themselves later on own e-commerce sites. Social media are mainly used for the loyalty process of the company through the involvement of the target.
Italian companies continue to prefer Facebook for this practice while foreign ones are moving more and more on Tiktok and also Instagram to help the conversion of e-commerce through social commerce.
Source report : Casaleggio Associati “E-commerce in Italy 2021
