Recently, it has been announced that through a new partnership Worldpay will allow easy transactions between most of Europe, the US and China’s largest bank. This is good news for ecommerce stores as in the past trading with China has always been somewhat difficult. The new partnership will make it easier and more secure for British retailers to deal with the emerging Chinese market. The bank in question is China UnionPay which uses the UnionPay card. These cards are now accepted in more than 125 different countries and selected areas around the world.
What does this mean for ecommerce stores?
China is an emerging market with a vastly increasing middle class population which soars in numbers each year. The middle class population is predicted to reach more than 100 million homes in 2016, in 2006 this figure was only 35 million. This means more and more families will have a little more excess money and will be willing to spend it online - potentially at your ecommerce solutions! Kalifa of WorldPay said, “China is rapidly overtaking many nations to become one of the biggest spending powers in the world”. If this is the case, China is a market that cannot be ignored any longer by online retailers and this new WorldPay is the key that will open the doors to new profitability from China.
Large businesses have taken note of this new emerging China UnionPay and the potential it has to offer. An example is the London store Selfridges, one of the first retailers to install China UnionPay terminals in their stores. This move comes after it was discovered that the number of Chinese tourists and visitors to the UK has greatly increased over the last few years. By allowing UnionPay cardholders to use their cards in the store, sales will increase exponentially on many of their items sold.
What about online Ecommerce solutions?
Due to the emerging middle class population of China more and more are starting to turn to the web and ecommerce stores to shop. With a middle class population of almost 250 million and an increase in disposable income the most popular items are luxury goods. This is a profitable area for many European and American companies as western products are popular with Chinese customers. Although some brands and retailers are sceptical as of late, this is set to change with time as more people see the potential in luxury goods. Many reasons for their reluctance is the fact that they do not understand the Chinese culture and market, but through collaboration with some of the larger Chinese stores this is a hurdle that can easily be mastered so European brands will be able to enter the Chinese market faster and more efficiently.
Want any more information about ecommerce solutions? Contact Store Express on, Telephone: 0845 050 3500, Fax: 0845 838 2701, Email:sales@storeexpress.com.