Italian exports of consumer goods through digital channels also grew in double digits in 2018, reaching a value of 10,3 billion euros, with an increase of 2017 billion (+1,1%) compared to 12. The pace of growth is a little slower than that recorded the previous year, when the increase was 23%. Despite the positive trend, however, digital exports still represent a marginal share of the total, equal to just 7% of exports of consumer goods (144 billion euro) and just over 2% if we consider total exports (463 billion).
The most important sector is still Fashion (clothing and accessories), which is worth 6,7 billion euros and accounts for 65% of online exports (12,7% of total exports in the sector). Followed by Food (agrifood products and beverages), with 12% of the market (1,2 billion, 2,8% of exports in the sector), and Furniture, which accounts for 9% and is worth more than 900 million euros (9,5% of total furniture exports). Electronics, cosmetics, stationery, games and sporting goods closed with marginal quotas. The growth of online exports in the B2b segment was more contained, equal to 1,5%, for a value of 132 billion euros, which correspond to 28,5% of total exports.
eCommerce is becoming increasingly relevant in accessing international markets, but in Italy it is still not possible to fully exploit the opportunities that digital channels offer globally. The world market in 2018 grew by 20% and reached a value of 2.500 billion euros. Europe and the United States, with a market of around 600 and 620 billion euros and growth in line with that of the Italian market (+12%), in fact absorb respectively half and a quarter of our digital Export, which instead it is not very present in those markets with the greatest expansion, such as China (1.000 billion in 2018, +20%) and in other emerging markets. However, exporting to China is not that simple: you need to sustain high investments and costs to activate a presence on Chinese eCommerce platforms, you need to offer a product of great value and with a high level of service.
The delay in adopting digital export solutions is particularly evident in SMEs, among which one emerges strong preference for traditional channels: 80% export online but always alongside offline tools and as many as 56% maintain that a marginal share of the turnover produced abroad is linked to eCommerce.
These are some of the results of the research ofDigital Export Observatory of the School of Management of the Milan Polytechnic, presented this morning in Milan at the conference "Digital export: how far there is to go!". “Despite the slowdown due to the uncertainties of the global economy, sales through digital channels continue to grow at a rapid pace, but their incidence on total exports is still limited and denotes a certain cultural backwardness of Italian companies, especially on the part of PMI, in the adoption of digital tools to support exports - he says Riccardo Mangiaracina, Director of the Digital Export Observatory —. To seize the great opportunities offered by eCommerce on an international level, companies must pay more attention to emerging markets, especially China, adapting their strategy to the specificities of the various countries”.
The macroeconomic scenario
In 2018, overall Italian exports grew by 3%, reaching 462,8 billion euros, a positive figure but a sharp decline compared to the previous year, which had seen an increase of 7,6%. The largest increases in exports concerned textiles and clothing (+3,3%), base metals and metal products, excluding machinery and equipment (+5,1%), means of transport, excluding motor vehicles (+4,5 .4,7%) and pharmaceutical, chemical-medicinal and botanical items (+2018%). Overall, both exports of consumer goods and capital goods, especially intermediate goods, grew in XNUMX. However, at the end of the year there was a tendential reduction in Italian exports, which in December fell in particular towards non-European countries and towards the USA.
"In a global scenario characterized by the difficulties of the Eurozone economy, the slowdown in Chinese growth and the negative effects of the duties imposed by the Trump administration, Italian exports are also slowing down - says Lucia Tajoli, Scientific Director of the Digital Export Observatory -. The context is less favorable than last year, but there are still great opportunities to be seized by exploring the possibilities offered by emerging markets, taking into account the specificities of the various countries and carefully assessing the political context and any risk factors".
B2b digital export
B2b digital export grows much more slowly than exports of consumer goods, +1,5% in 2018 for a total value of 132 billion euros, but has a much higher incidence on total online and offline exports, equal at 28,5%. The most digitized supply chains are the automotive, with a 26% share of digital B2b exports and a value of 34 billion euros (about 75% of the sector total), textiles and clothing, with a weight of 14% and a value of 19 billion (36 % of sector exports), and mechanics, the first sector for total exports and equal to approximately 11% of B2b digital exports (15 billion, 18% of the sector total). Followed by large-scale consumption (8 billion, 6%), the electrical equipment sector (6 billion, 5%), electronics (4 billion, 2,7%), pharmaceuticals (3 billion, 2%), and many other sectors, including construction and chemicals, which together cover a third of B2b digital exports and are worth 43 billion.
The digital export strategies of SMEs
The majority of small and medium-sized enterprises use eCommerce to export abroad, but not in a convinced and significant way, and the most widespread export model remains the one based on traditional B2b channels. Indeed, according to a survey conducted by the Observatory on 100 Italian SMEs, 80% export through eCommerce tools, but over half (56%) argue that exports linked to digital channels produce a marginal share of the turnover achieved abroad. The most frequently used online channels are the marketplaces (40%), especially the international ones. Own initiatives alone, both B2b and B2c, are the least adopted (20%), while the combination of own channels and channels managed by intermediaries is quite widespread (40%).
Four out of ten companies (40%) delegate the management of all digital export processesand, from marketing to logistics and the supervision of commercial channels, to intermediaries and service providers. 30% of companies only outsource the logistics aspects, 18% directly manage warehouses and logistics and entrust the management of other activities to external suppliers, while 12% deal internally with all phases of the digital export project.
“Italian SMEs are aware of the potential of digital to boost their exports, but the weight of these channels in export strategies is still limited - comments Lucia Piscitello, scientific director of the Digital Export Observatory -. There is a tendency to prefer traditional export channels, demonstrated by the absence of strategies based on the exclusive use of digital tools, with the online always accompanied by the use of offline channels. Furthermore, the prevalence of outsourced export strategies confirms the difficulty of our companies in personally managing the processes connected to online internationalization initiatives".
Marketplaces to support digital exports
The analysis of the main international B2c and B2b marketplaces reveals a fairly concentrated eCommerce market, in which each country has on average a few very large but relevant players for entering that market. In addition to Amazon and Alibaba, the most important international platforms are Flipkart, leader of Indian eCommerce, Qoo10, based in Singapore, Rakuten, which operates in Japan and the USA, GittyGidiyor, for the Turkish market, and Jet.com, owned by Walmart, USA.
46% of the 58 marketplaces surveyed operate globally, while the remainder is focused on a specific country or geographical area (for example, Allegro in Poland, Jumia in Africa or Mercado Libre in South America). One half operates in a specific sector (vertical marketplaces, such as Joor for fashion), the other is made up of platforms that operate across multiple sectors (for example Tmall in B2c or ThomasNet in B2b). In 54% of cases (which rises to 67% if we consider only the marketplaces also active in the B2b segment), the marketplaces are easily accessible for Italian brands, while in the B2b, platforms with stringent requirements prevail, such as for example the establishment of a company in the country where you want to sell. A feature that almost all the surveyed initiatives have in common is the offer of additional services, mainly in the fields of marketing (sponsored ads or the purchase of advertising space on the platform), logistics (international shipping, customs clearance, storage, returns) and data analysis ( CRM and visitor profiling services, sales reports), often made available for a fee by third-party partners with respect to the reference platform.
Opportunities in China
In 2018, China confirmed itself as the first B2C eCommerce market in the world, reaching a value of 1000 billion euros, equal to about 40% of the global market. An extremely concentrated market, in which the large local players have dominated for years, with the top three brands, Tmall (Alibaba's B2c platform, 61% of the market) and JD.com (Tencent Group, 24%) and Suning (7% ), which together cover 90% of sales, followed by VIPs with 4% of the shares, while all the other initiatives each account for less than 1%. Even cross-border online sales to China continued the growth recorded in recent years, reaching a value of approximately 102 billion euros (+13% compared to 2017).
However, the cross-border B2c market is more fragmented than the domestic market. Alongside the platforms of major players such as Tmall Global (about 22% of the cross border B2c market), JD Worldwide (13%) or Vip.com (12%), we also find other marketplaces specialized exclusively in the cross border segment, such as Kaola .com (26%) mainly active in the health and wellness sectors, yMatou.com (4%) in the baby care and beauty sectors, Xiaohongshu (6%) which has a strong social component and Mia.com, specialized in the baby care sector ( 3%). Users who make online purchases have reached 650 million, with a 12% growth compared to 2017, equal to over 45% of the Chinese population and most do it via smartphone (84% of B2c eCommerce transactions) .
“Today the internationalization strategies of Italian companies are still mainly linked to the figure of the traditional export manager, while digital solutions are on average little used - explains Riccardo Mangiaracina, Director of the Digital Export Observatory -. Selling in China can involve high costs and investments, regardless of the platform and the sector considered. It is necessary to invest heavily in marketing activities and focus on the development of specific digital skills for the Chinese market. Finally, if sales volumes are low or grow slowly, it is necessary to leverage leading products or the ability to combine with other companies to reach the critical mass needed to assert one's presence on the Chinese market”.
