How China E-commerce improved my life as a foreigner in China?
With Chinese eCommerce, living as a foreigner in China has become so much easier. But that's not all, apparently something bigger is going on in China's market
Anyone who long lived in China would agree that there are so many things you are craving for and are very hard to get
Living in China as a foreigner gives you many privileges which in other countries you simply would not get.
For instance, a high salary compared to the local average for teaching English even If you are not a certified teacher, or as a foreigner in China, you are not standing in line. It seems like people simply do not want to mess with you, just say you do not understand Chinese and they let you in anyplace only to avoid confronting you. People invite you to dinners and drinks every day and don’t get me started on the business opportunities you receive. As enjoyable as it is, you also find yourself feeling exhausted from the search for trivial things (trivial in your country) which simply do not exist.
I have lived in China from 2010 to 2016, and nowadays I travel there for business every few months. I got a close look at the changes China has been throughout these years, especially in the E-commerce sphere and that led me to do what I do today. Nowadays you can get almost anything on China’s online websites, and there are many of them. Even if now there is something that is not there yet, it is going be; the question is who will be the one to bring it?
When I lived in China, I remember going all over just to find a good burger or a steak. I can honestly say, I never ate a good steak in China until 2016, when I found out an American steaks chain restaurant that just opened a branch in Beijing.
However, what is more interesting is at that time, one of my friends who lived in Dongguan, (a small industrial city in China) revealed to me that now you can buy a Steak on TaoBao! Yes, a steak imported from Australia or Russia comes frozen to your doorstep. Moreover, it is not only meat. I remember craving for fresh squeezed orange juice, and it was almost impossible to get. However, now, though you can get it on the streets also, you can order your favorite brand on guess where? That is right, TaoBao.
So yes, TaoBao became useful to foreigners in China who crave for home-made food, but obviously, no company would open a TaoBao store just for foreign customers, there is something bigger going on.
Take for example Starbucks. Chinese don’t even drink coffee, but since Starbucks opened its doors in China, it is full. What I am pointing out is that China is Westernizing, and the main demand comes from the Chinese consumers who like a foreign brand like any other consumer in the world, possibly even more.
After years of Chinese import of goods into the West, now, is the time to bring the West to the East. As more and more foreign products go into China, now is the time to do this. So, if you have a good product, which can benefit Chinese consumers you should consider entering this market.
Tamir Nahmias is an International Business Development Manager and Co-Founder of ICBB group.
