Increased cross-border sales through eCommerce and sales to Chinese tourists
In 2018, for the first time, China was one of 10 countries with the most tourists travelling to the UK. According to VisitBritain, the number of tourists that year was 270,000, up 46% from 2014. Spending reached £586 million (£1 is about $1.20), with an average of £1600 per person per trip, 2.8 times more than the average for other tourists visiting the UK.
Although in 2020, tourism was drastically reduced due to the pandemic, this year, with China’s new measures, tourism is expected to increase significantly. Figures from previous years show just how much trade China generates, so businesses need to be prepared with a more digital shopping experience.
A large number of Chinese tourists, with higher expenditure
The recovery of the tourism sector after the COVID crisis is well underway. With the reopening of borders by China, a greater influx of Chinese tourists to Europe is expected. Although some sources are less optimistic, they still point to 2024 as the date of full tourism recovery to the same pre-pandemic levels. This is a visitor with a high average spent, and preparing a shopping experience to match is vital.
Small and large retailers must strengthen their infrastructure to respond to the new demands of the consumer. The Chinese customer has a high level of purchasing power and digital literacy.
How to sell to the Chinese consumer: in-store or online
To sell to the Chinese consumer, offering them a shopping experience that responds to their consumption habits and is based on their preferred shopping methods is essential. Shops must offer different shopping channels they are used to finding in their favourite stores and allow for payment through their chosen payment method.
Receiving financial expert advice is an almost indispensable requirement to understand the international payment landscape and offer the best to the end customer, regardless of their origin. This is what we offer you from PayXpert: a complete solution of fintech tools to adapt your business to the demands of, in this case, the Chinese tourist.
Omnichannel payments
Omnichannel payments offer more ways for the customer to complete the payment and optimise the entire shopping process and experience by allowing the customer to experience each stage in a different sales channel.
Click and collect. Thanks to this method, the customer can review your catalogue from home, through the web or mobile store, place the order and pay through the eCommerce payment gateway. And finally, go to pick up the order once it arrives at the store selected as the pickup point.
Buy in one store, pick up at another: another advantage of omnichannel payments is that they are synchronously linked to the merchant’s global inventory. This way, your customers can pay in one of your stores and pick up the product in another without disrupting their shopping experience or your system.
Omnichannel payments allow you to offer a unified commerce experience thanks to the different channels you will offer to your customers: mPOS soft, digital payments, MOTO, and many more.
Alternative payments for the Chinese market
The way to increase the conversion of your stores by reaching more Chinese customers (in-store and through eCommerce) is to offer the main Chinese payment methods, such as AliPay and WeChat Pay.
- AliPay+: With over 600 million users, the app allows you to make mobile payments quickly and conveniently. The payment app, created by the giant Alibaba, is a must-have for any merchant who wants to make friends with one of the world’s highest-spending consumers.
- WeChat Pay: is a mobile payment service and digital wallet integrated into WeChat; with more than one billion monthly users, 200 million registered cards, and 83% of online sales, it is a piece that cannot be missing in the payment gateway of merchants with a strong digital presence.
One of the keys to the success of a business lies in a strategy designed with the future in mind. Don’t miss out on business opportunities when implementing multichannel payments and Chinese alternative payment methods!
