In 2016, the Italian export of consumer goods that passes through digital channels marks a significant growth, +24% compared to the previous year, and reaches a market value of 7,5 billion euros. But it still represents a marginal share, just under 6%, of total exports of consumer goods destined for the final customer. Fashion is confirmed as the main sector of exports via eCommerce, with a weight of just over 60%, followed at a distance by Food (17%) - the sector with the highest growth rate (+32%) - and then by Furniture and Design (both 12%).
Large retailers are the preferred online distribution channel for cross-border sales and account for 52% of digital export turnover. In second place are marketplaces (34%), the channel that grew the most in 2016, +46%, then private sales sites (8%) and eCommerce sites of manufacturing companies (6%). The main outlet markets are still Europe and the United States, with a predominance of Western European countries (primarily Germany), and the presence in some Eastern European countries is also strengthened, including Russia and Poland, while remaining marginal Export to other markets such as South America, South-East Asia and China.
These are some of the results of the research by the Export Observatory of the School of Management of the Milan Polytechnic (www.osservatori.net)* presented this morning in Milan at the conference “Digital export: one challenge, many opportunities”.
The research reveals a still very wide gap between the value of "direct" online exports - in which interaction with the customer is managed by an Italian operator through manufacturers' sites, online or multi-channel retailer portals (such as LuisaViaRoma and Yoox net-a-porter-Group) or "Italian" marketplaces (such as Amazon.it and eBay.it) - the "indirect" online export, which passes through the eCommerce sites of large foreign online retailers (such as Zalando, JD. com, Suning), large marketplaces (Amazon and eBay with foreign domains, Tmall) and international private sales sites (such as vente-privee.com or VIP).
In fact, direct exports, despite registering significant growth in 2016 (+23%), are worth only 2 billion euros. Within it, Fashion takes the lion's share, collecting about two thirds of the turnover (65%), followed by Food and Furniture/Home Design with 10% each, then Consumer Electronics (4%). The main channel for direct exports are national retailers, which generate 58% of the value of sales and a good portion of the market, 26%, is made up of the own sites of manufacturing companies, the marketplaces with the .it domain stop at 16%.
Indirect online exports, on the other hand, generate 5,5 billion euros in turnover: 60% attributable to Fashion, Food and Furniture/Home Design respectively cover a share of 21% and 13%, the other sectors confirm their marginality by stopping at 6%. The preferred sales channel is made up of foreign online retailers, which enable about half of the transactions. Foreign marketplaces weigh much more than their Italian counterparts, with a 40% share. International private sales sites follow, accounting for 10%.
"In a highly competitive international scenario, with consumers increasingly inclined to the use of digital technologies, the adoption of eCommerce as a sales channel abroad can be a winning choice, useful for supporting the growth of Italian exports - he says Riccardo Mangiaracina, Director of the Export Observatory -. In Italy, the use of eCommerce channels to export is a recent phenomenon: volumes are growing and awareness of the opportunities is increasing. But taking advantage of the opportunities provided by digital exports is not easy: you need preparation, skills, propensity for change and adequate investments. It is necessary to study the characteristics of the various countries and sectors to develop export models capable of unlocking the potential of digital channels".
The survey of the Export Observatory on a sample of 100 Italian companies exporting in the consumer sectors reveals that about half of the companies in these sectors already use eCommerce channels to export. Of these, only 5% export according to an online-only strategy, 30% vary it (exclusively offline or online) depending on the country of destination, 15% adopt a multi-channel strategy in all countries. About 50% of digital exporting companies have been using eCommerce for no more than two years, about a quarter started just one year ago. About 64% of companies that do not yet export online intend to do so in the future. In particular, half of these intend to activate eCommerce channels abroad within the next three years.
The macroeconomic scenario of exports – There are 210 Italian exporting companies, a significant number if we consider the small size that characterizes the Italian manufacturing fabric. But the export intensity is weak: 45,5% of companies export less than 10% of their turnover, only 10,3% export at least 75%. This was revealed by the analysis of the Export Observatory on the Italian macroeconomic scenario, from which it clearly emerges that exports continue to represent a driving force for the national economy, since foreign demand is much more dynamic than domestic demand. The so-called "propensity to export" - the ratio between the total value of exports and GDP - is growing, reaching 2016% for manufactured goods in 43, in line with several countries of the same size and level of development, such as France and Spain , but lower than that of Germany, the largest European exporter. And in 2016 the turnover of Italian companies on foreign markets increased by 45% compared to the levels of the first quarter of 2009, while the domestic turnover was substantially unchanged.
“This dichotomy – explains Lucia Tajoli, Scientific Director of the Export Observatory – is due both to economic factors such as the different speed of recovery in demand after the international financial crisis, and to structural factors linked to the growth in weight of emerging non-European markets . This naturally pushes Italian exports, which are still highly concentrated in mature markets, towards greater geographical diversification. If Germany and the United States remain the most attractive countries, the United Arab Emirates, China, South Korea and ASEAN countries can represent particularly important and dynamic trading partners, albeit with due attention to the risk factors present in these markets. The search for foreign markets, for the optimal sectors in which to operate and for the most appropriate export models has a fundamental role for the entire Italian economy”.
The China - China is today the country with the highest number of web users in the world, with around 688 million people who connect regularly to the web: one in two Chinese surfs, gets information on the web and uses chats; one in three makes purchases through PC or mobile devices. ECommerce represents an extraordinary opportunity to reach this country, where purchasing power and the market are expanding and there is growing consumer interest in the luxury sector and Made in Italy brands.
The Chinese eCommerce market in 2016 continued its turbulent growth with a +23,6% and a total of transactions (B2b + B2c) estimated at 2.700 billion euros. China now accounts for over 45% of the world B2C eCommerce market and aims to exceed the 50% share in 2017. Furthermore, 2016 saw a further strengthening of cross-border online sales (to China ), which reached 30 billion euros, +86% compared to 2015
“China is a country with a high growth potential for Italian digital exports, but the scarcity of practical indications on how to access this market effectively and the uncertainty about returns on investment can limit sales via eCommerce – notes Lucio Lamberti, Senior Advisor of the Export Observatory -. There are at least six alternatives for exporting online to China: identifying the most suitable model for your characteristics is crucial for the success of the initiative. Regardless of the sector to which they belong and the platform used, however, the investment in digital exports to China is profitable in the medium term, but a key role is played by the profuse marketing effort and the impact on sales".
The USA – Despite a higher level of maturity than China, US eCommerce continues to grow, increasing the attractiveness for Italian exports: the US market for B2C online sales, the second in the world, amounted to 2016 billion euros in 489, with a growth of 12%. Penetration of total retail sales reached 15%, almost one point more than the previous year. “However, the development of digital exports of Italian companies to the USA remains a difficult “path” to complete – explains Lucia Piscitello, Scientific Director of the Export Observatory -. Companies tend to have limited control over logistics processes, they are almost never present on site with warehouses or distribution structures, external firms are needed to settle legal issues, and above all the problem remains of the skills of "traditional" Export managers who rarely have a appropriate experience in the digital and eCommerce fields”.
Other areas – In Europe, the economic picture shows decisive signs of recovery after the crisis, but is characterized by an increasingly heterogeneous pace of development internally. Forecasts of further growth are characterized by high uncertainty, but good opportunities can be seized: in defining an online export strategy, it is necessary to consider that each country is different, to test the market through an indirect channel before investing in an eCommerce site own, to use a multi-channel approach to increase the effectiveness of the site and in any case to propose familiar information contents for the reference market, communicating in the native language of the country.
In the countries of the Middle East, which have launched a series of structural reforms with the aim of being less dependent on oil, new digital export opportunities are opening up, also considering the eCommerce boom expected for the next few years. For the strategy it is useful to aim at young people, effectively describing Made in Italy with brand recognition, perhaps using brand ambassadors and influencers, entering into agreements with local companies and distributors.
In South-East Asia, the growth potential is yet to be exploited, due to sustained growth rates and trade facilitated by the free trade agreements entered into with the European Union. It is also the fastest growing digital market in the world. It is useful to set the strategy by building a strong brand identity with a direct presence, using an on-site warehouse to reduce costs and paying attention to "last mile logistics".
