Editor | Liu Jingfeng

In the wave of cross-border e-commerce, every step taken by independent station merchants is full of variables and opportunities. One merchant's "adventure" in Saudi Arabia deserves the attention of most overseas merchants. They had been doing well in the European and American markets but unexpectedly encountered unexpected difficulties in the Saudi market due to cultural differences, causing their business to come to a halt – this is not only a profound lesson on brand naming and cultural sensitivity but also a case study on the rapid growth of new independent station merchants.

As independent stations become a new battleground for an increasing number of sellers, market competition is heating up. While independent stations offer autonomy, they also entail higher operational costs and risks. How to grow rapidly in this blue ocean has become a challenge that sellers must face. Small adjustments, such as optimizing payment methods and currency conversion functions, can often lead to unexpected significant benefits. How should sellers quickly adapt to market differences and cultural nuances? How can they better adapt to local payment habits when operating independent stations in different countries and regions? For newly opened independent station merchants, how can they maximize their chances of avoiding "pitfalls"? These questions are crucial to the growth and survival of their businesses.

Recently, an independent station merchant shared with Xiaguang News a frustrating experience they had. They were an independent station merchant focused on cross-border apparel for the European and American markets and had been doing well. They then decided to try their hand in the Saudi Arabian market. However, in March of this year, they suddenly encountered a major problem: their business came to a complete halt in Saudi Arabia, having been blacklisted by a local major company – the largest credit card company. The issue stemmed from the merchant's own name, which unfortunately coincided with that of a type of alcoholic beverage. In Saudi Arabia, due to religious and cultural reasons, alcohol consumption is prohibited during Ramadan.

During that sensitive period, their name was mistakenly associated with alcohol-related businesses, leading to unintended harm to their company's operations. This is a lesson for individual independent station merchants and a pitfall that all independent station sellers should be aware of. Independent stations are becoming a new channel for many merchants to go overseas. In the first half of this year alone, more than half of the sellers Xiaguang News interviewed indicated that they had newly opened independent stations as a sales channel. Taking the Middle East market as an example, a Middle East brand merchant told Xiaguang News that local consumers prefer to purchase daily consumables on e-commerce platforms due to their price competitiveness. For products with strong brand attributes, especially those with prominent design elements, setting up independent stations is more beneficial.

However, many merchants are newbies and approach independent stations with a "try it out" mindset, leading to frequent missteps. When entering markets like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, it is essential to understand local culture and customs to avoid potential sensitive vocabulary. Otherwise, significant troubles can arise due to cultural and religious differences. Many mature merchants on other third-party cross-border e-commerce platforms actually lack sufficient experience operating independent stations. Operating independent stations differs significantly from third-party e-commerce platforms: while third-party cross-border platforms provide ready-made markets and user bases, requiring only adherence to platform rules, independent stations offer complete autonomy but also require self-management of website maintenance, promotion, and customer service costs, as well as more effort to attract traffic and maintain customer relationships.

Therefore, while independent stations offer greater freedom, they also require more attention. For example, this independent station merchant expanding into the Middle East mentioned that, in addition to being blacklisted by a local credit card company initially, they also had to consider logistics issues in the Middle East. Independent station sellers in Saudi Arabia need to collaborate with local logistics companies, but when address systems are inadequate, delivery problems can arise. Moreover, Saudi Arabia's vast territory and widespread deserts result in relatively high delivery costs, which sellers must consider.

Within the cross-border e-commerce sector, independent stations, as a dedicated branch, are gradually becoming a popular choice for sellers' diversified channel layouts. According to analysis and forecasts by Zhejiang Merchants Securities, the market size of China's cross-border e-commerce independent stations is expected to reach RMB 3.4 trillion in 2024, accounting for 35% of the entire cross-border e-commerce B2C market. The number of independent station sellers is projected to exceed 500,000, making independent stations a clear trend. However, as competitors join the fray, early-mover advantages will gradually diminish. Moreover, the initial investment in independent stations is substantial, and if order generation is hindered by minor issues, it could lead to cash flow strains and make recovery more challenging later on. If independent stations fail to grow rapidly, they may miss the golden opportunity to capture the market. Industry insiders suggest that many independent station sellers who become complacent often end up failing or become redundant overseas stations.

Some sellers may find that popular products on Amazon receive little attention when listed on their own small stores. Furthermore, initial preparatory startup funds can cost approximately RMB 1-2 million, which is used to build the website and assemble a team of 3-5 people, yet the independent station still fails to take off. In many cases, simply addressing a minor issue can significantly boost GMV. Another independent station merchant specializing in anime and game figurines shared their story. They initially sold self-designed figurines through the same website to European and American markets, but struggled to gain traction in the European market. It turned out that their products were priced in USD and only accepted USD payments, discouraging European customers from placing orders. After fixing this issue, their GMV in the European market surged by 30%.

In addition, independent station players may face various challenges, including payment method diversity and security, suitable logistics solutions, website operation, brand awareness enhancement, website design optimization, website internationalization and multilingual support, and data security and privacy protection. While these details are numerous, they are crucial for a brand's overseas market expansion. For instance, multilingual support in independent station internationalization not only boosts SEO rankings but also enhances affinity, attracting local customers and buyers. Selecting the right logistics solution is equally critical, considering factors such as timeliness, cost, reliability, and the ability to provide tracking information and handle returns. Payment-wise, independent stations need to offer diverse and secure options, including credit cards, e-wallets, and local payments, to cater to consumer preferences in different countries and regions. Given the multifaceted challenges faced by independent station merchants expanding overseas, it is essential to comprehensively consider costs and efficiency.

Taking payment issues as an example, through interviews with the local service team at Airwallex, a global payment and financial services platform, Xiaguang News uncovered the actual pain points faced by these merchants and actionable solutions. The payment challenges encountered by independent station merchants can be broadly categorized as follows: lack of local currency pricing on independent stations, unsupported local mainstream payment methods, poor user experience due to payment page redirects, risk control and chargeback issues, and a lack of payment technology and service support. As a global payment and financial services platform, Airwallex shared several of their service cases with Xiaguang News: an apparel independent station decided to expand into the UK market, fully supporting customers to bind local bank cards for payments, seemingly offering convenient payment localization. However, after launching operations, the payment success rate was alarmingly low for a period. The anxious merchant immediately contacted Airwallex's technical support team for insights. They quickly identified that the issue stemmed from a specific UK bank with almost zero authorization success rates. Upon further investigation, they found that this was an isolated case and that other banks and transactions with this merchant were unaffected. After comparing with other UK banks, Airwallex pinpointed the issue: a minor misunderstanding in data transmission led to a misunderstanding of the transaction scenario by this bank.

They promptly adjusted their strategy, customizing data transmission parameters specifically for this issuing bank to ensure accurate information delivery and match the bank's message processing logic. As a result, starting in May 2024, the merchant's payment success rate increased by over 90% compared to before the adjustment. This demonstrates that even seemingly well-localized independent stations can encounter low payment success rates due to various factors, including bank authorization issues, data transmission errors, and payment gateway compatibility. Airwallex holds licenses and permits issued by governments and regulatory agencies in over 60 countries and regions, supporting over 160 payment methods, including card payments, e-wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.), bank transfers, and cash payments, covering acquiring services in more than 180 countries and regions. They have helped over 100,000 enterprises simplify global payments and financial operations, and they have encountered many similar cases.

For instance, the merchant mentioned earlier who was mistakenly blacklisted in the Saudi Arabian market due to their name coinciding with an alcoholic beverage relied on Airwallex to quickly contact the issuing bank after identifying the issue. Leveraging their deep industry insights, Airwallex helped the merchant swiftly replace their merchant entity, restoring transactions within just two days. Since then, Airwallex has become the merchant's sole acquiring bank in the Saudi market. For another figurine independent station with a single website and all products priced in USD, Airwallex solved their currency conversion challenges by enabling an "automatic currency conversion" function on their website payment interface. This automatically converted USD-priced products into over 20 different currencies in more than 40 countries.

Since implementing the "automatic currency conversion" feature, the company's payment success rate in Europe has surged by nearly 40%, and their gross merchandise value (GMV) has increased by over 30%. Consumers in various European countries can now pay directly in their local currencies, significantly improving the shopping experience. Furthermore, prompt technical support is crucial when encountering payment issues. Airwallex's technical support and customer service teams can respond quickly and diagnose problems, which is essential for enhancing payment success rates. It's also important to continuously monitor transaction performance and optimize based on feedback, as improving payment success rates is not a one-time fix.

Airwallex shared with Xiaguang News that astute businesspeople are always on the lookout for new business opportunities and revenue streams. In this process, having a reliable financial payment partner that can swiftly respond to their needs is crucial. Swiftly addressing demands and turning them into actionable solutions are vital for independent station brands, which is precisely what Airwallex has been doing.