Savvy Amazon sellers have been taking advantage of Amazon’s global marketplaces for years. With marketplaces in 11 regions, and customers in over 180 countries, Amazon makes it easy to get in front of fresh markets and new consumers. Retail, as we know it, is rapidly developing as consumers purchase more products online rather than in-store. eMarket shows that Amazon is responsible for 44 cents of every ecommerce dollar spent, up from 38 cents in 2016. With this increased growth, more sellers are expanding beyond borders to find less saturated markets and take advantage of exchange rates. The opportunity to sell globally? Massive.
International Selling
We are now seeing more private label brands and resellers become global market leaders. Brands like Anker manage their own eCommerce storefronts and are relatively unknown in the brick and mortar space. But, by optimizing their listings and expanding their brand across multiple channels, they’ve become a titan on global marketplaces. On Amazon, the UK/EU are collectively the same size as the Amazon.com market. In China, it’s projected that more than a quarter of the population will be shopping for foreign products on eCommerce platforms. For those of you counting at home, that’s roughly 455 million potential customers.
That said, opening your business to new markets means learning how to navigate cross border payments, transactions, and how to bring your international sales home effectively. Not to mention you will have to pay VAT, the equivalent of sales tax in the UK / EU, to the international governments in which you’re selling. It goes without saying, you need an effective strategy in place to manage all of your different currencies, tax payments, and supplier payments to protect your margin selling globally.
Money Forward Contracts
So what do you do? Setting up in-country bank accounts requires an entity in that country, and the process to set it up can be lengthy and costly. Not to mention, the currency exchange rates that you’re getting may still not be competitive. While most marketplaces have a currency solution, you have zero control over when they move your funds and no transparency to the trade rate of their funds. You need a solution that both allows you control over your foreign exchange, and protection against potential volatility in the rates.
Take Brexit, for example. We saw the rates move 10% in a matter of hours, and those using a marketplace solution were at the mercy of the markets. Those who were working with a solution like WorldFirst were able to work with their relationship managers to protect themselves against market movement by booking forward contracts or setting rate alerts. This helped them move their funds back home at a rate they budgeted for. By giving our customers the ability to control their money, we were able to provide peace of mind and the ability to protect their rates.
Amazon International Money Transfers
As global eCommerce becomes more accessible to sellers, it’s becoming easier to make cross border distribution a reality for your business. The only consistency in the currency market is that it fluctuates. While you may never be able to predict which way the market is going to move, World First can help you protect your margins and grow your business globally. We have had sellers experience their business grow between 5-10% in the first year of expanding internationally, and then reinvest the profits in your business to promote continued growth in the international space.
World First USA Inc. can help you pay suppliers, vendors, and taxes overseas. We can set you up with local receiving accounts in the countries where you’re selling, allowing you to collect funds in the local currency and take control of when your funds are transferred. The marketplace transfers your earnings to your in-country account and you can transfer your funds back home. We’d love to help you take hold of the global markets. Register here to get started.
