Cross-border e-commerce consumer behavior patterns and marketing strategies

With the support of national policies, favorable measures and laws and regulations, my country's cross-border e-commerce has developed rapidly. Based on the previous research on my country's cross-border e-commerce consumers and the in-depth analysis of current consumer characteristics, this paper proposes a three-stage model framework of cross-border e-commerce consumer behavior, namely pre-purchase influence, information search and screening, purchase behavior, and post-purchase evaluation. It emphasizes the importance of technology, social interaction and sharing in the process of consumer behavior, and proposes several marketing strategy suggestions based on this: accelerate technological development, promote the application of APP mobile clients in colleges and universities; enrich product categories, ensure product quality, and strengthen product publicity; optimize and strengthen platform virtual community management to create an atmosphere of consumer participation.

Behavior Model 1. Review of Research on Cross-border E-commerce Consumer Behavior The consumer behavior process is understood from two perspectives: psychological and behavioral, including psychological activities related to purchase decisions and actual purchase behaviors. The consumer behavior model shows the whole process of consumers' investment, seeking, purchasing, using, evaluating, decision-making and processing of goods or services, reflecting the habits and general rules of consumer purchasing behavior. Compared with foreign countries, the research on cross-border e-commerce from the perspective of consumers in my country is relatively late. In recent years, scholars have mainly conducted research from the following aspects: The first category is the research on the characteristics of cross-border e-commerce consumers. For example, Sun Xiaoya and Wang Zhiguo (2017) analyzed a series of issues such as group characteristics, values ​​and consumer grouping of B2C cross-border e-commerce consumers through empirical research methods. The second category is the research on individual adoption behavior of cross-border e-commerce platforms. Scholars use TAM, TPB and other theories to study the impact of consumer attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavior, etc. on cross-border e-commerce platform consumption behavior (such as Zou Peng and Yang Lifan, 2014). The third category is the study of influencing factors in consumer behavior and decision-making processes. For example, Liu Jiangwei et al. (2017) used the ISM model to analyze the influencing factors of cross-border e-commerce consumer experience and the relationship between them. Zhao Tianshui (2016) studied the impact of trust on purchasing behavior in the process of cross-border e-commerce consumer consumption behavior. Xu Meijuan (2016) used normative analysis and empirical analysis to study the impact of switching costs on cross-border e-commerce consumer behavior loyalty from the perspective of switching costs.

2. Analysis of cross-border e-commerce consumer characteristics

The mode of information dissemination on the Internet is changing. In the future, mobile clients will be more portable and diversified. Cross-border e-commerce will surely launch all-round, multi-level and wide-ranging cross-border trade.

1. Consumers’ visual, auditory and spatial perception environments are richer

The rapid development of mobile communication technology, digital multimedia technology, information interaction technology and location-based service technology, and the emergence of cross-border e-commerce mobile apps have promoted the generation of consumer demand based on location, search and social interaction, while providing a global, instant and rich visual, auditory and spatial location perception environment.

(II) Consumers’ awareness of overseas products has increased

As China's reform and opening-up deepens, the per capita income of Chinese residents has grown steadily, consumers' consumption patterns have changed, and their spending power has increased. They are increasingly exposed to foreign brands and products, and have a better understanding and familiarity with them. With the improvement of their understanding of overseas products, consumers have a richer and more vigorous demand for cross-border e-commerce products, involving maternal and child products, cosmetics, clothing, shoes and hats, luxury goods and other categories, which has promoted the development of cross-border e-commerce.

3. Consumers show strong desire for socialization

The cross-border e-commerce environment is decentralized, interactive, and dispersed, providing richer social media communication functions and engine-based search functions for user-generated content. Consumers' various consumption experiences can be quickly disseminated and diffused, thus having a certain impact on other consumers' information search and selection processes, forming a dynamic virtuous cycle. Through evaluation and sharing, consumers show strong social desires and behaviors, which has great commercial value.

(IV) Consumer personalization and potential needs are easy to analyze intelligently

The behaviors and decisions of cross-border e-commerce consumers are all dependent on information. The commodity information they can access is richer, the prices are lower, the information is transmitted and updated faster, and the online payment platform is safer and more convenient. Big data analysis and semantic retrieval can intelligently analyze consumers' consumption records and browsing information, determine their interest preferences and potential consumption needs based on their browsing tracks, and conduct precision marketing to meet their personalized needs and potential needs.

3. Cross-border e-commerce consumer behavior patterns

After integrating global, mobile, social and location services, cross-border e-commerce consumer behavior has changed dramatically. They have more diversified and social consumption needs, and are more inclined to establish social networks, experience and share consumption information, show personality and preferences, and unify online and offline consumption behaviors, covering the purchase and use of goods or services, information search and screening, individual or group influence, recommendation and sharing, and evaluation of personalized consumption behaviors. Based on this, this paper proposes a cross-border e-commerce consumer behavior model.

1. Pre-purchase influence stage

Consumers have a desire to consume across borders based on individual, social, and e-commerce platform factors. They pay attention to the categories of cross-border e-commerce products, brand awareness and quality, the safety of the shopping process, the flexibility of payment methods, and service and after-sales. They also pay attention to product reviews and experience sharing from family, friends, and social circles, which are more persuasive and more likely to change their behavior and decision-making, resulting in a herd effect.

2. Information Search, Screening and Purchase Behavior Stage

The processes of consulting and screening product information, booking and payment, and logistics tracking all require consumers to conduct a large amount of browsing and searching. The mobility, real-time positioning, and highly integrated information of cross-border e-commerce have not only promoted the innovation of corporate marketing methods and the development of search engines, but also brought new auditory and visual stimulation to consumers. Through intelligent analysis of consumers' browsing and search records, we can obtain consumers' interest preferences, consumption habits, or purchasing power, which can facilitate platforms and merchants to make personalized recommendations to consumers. Based on their needs, wishes, and interests, consumers customize purchase decision plans (such as purchase methods, time and place, booking and payment, logistics, etc.) according to the results of online and offline information searches and social interactions.

3. Post-purchase evaluation stage

Consumers’ interest in goods or services, their subjective feelings and emotional expressions, and cost-benefit analysis will all affect their satisfaction and word-of-mouth communication. Cross-border e-commerce provides consumers with opportunities to discuss and communicate, which directly affects future consumer behavior, such as whether to shop again, continue to use the platform, recommend it to others, etc. This makes consumers show a certain degree of loyalty in terms of both behavior and attitude.

4. Marketing strategy analysis

The factors affecting cross-border e-commerce consumer behavior are complex and diverse. Based on the characteristics of cross-border e-commerce consumer behavior, this article proposes a cross-border e-commerce consumer behavior model. This can not only intuitively and clearly reflect the impact of social and psychological factors on the consumer behavior process, but also highlight the importance of information, goods or services in the consumer behavior process, the stages and changing trends of consumer behavior. It has certain academic research value and practical significance. Based on this, cross-border e-commerce should pay attention to the following issues when formulating marketing strategies:

( I) Accelerate technological development and efficiently promote the use of APP mobile clients

The emergence of mobile apps has changed consumers' consumption behavior on the one hand, and also changed the business and marketing methods of enterprises on the other hand. Cross-border e-commerce should provide consumers with instant, mobile, diverse, social and personalized product and service functions to meet their diverse needs. Therefore, cross-border e-commerce should vigorously promote and improve App mobile clients, integrate advanced technologies as much as possible, disseminate product information in various forms, improve consumers' visual and other sensory environments, and meet consumers' consumption needs anytime and anywhere.

(II) Enrich product categories, ensure product quality, and strengthen product promotion

When consumers purchase goods on cross-border e-commerce platforms, they primarily focus on brand awareness and product quality. Therefore, cross-border e-commerce platforms can stimulate consumers' potential consumption needs and attract consumers to buy products by enriching product categories, providing high-quality and reasonably priced goods, and designing novel but persuasive advertising. At the same time, through in-depth analysis of back-end big data, through consumers' feelings and opinions on product quality, function, price, and merchant service quality, information can be pushed to the appropriate target consumer groups to achieve precision marketing and strengthen consumer purchasing behavior. At the same time, a complete product after-sales guarantee mechanism, logistics and transportation mechanism, and payment security guarantee mechanism should be established to improve service quality.

(III) Optimize and strengthen the management of the platform's virtual community and create an atmosphere for consumer participation

Cross-border e-commerce companies should fully realize the marketing value of virtual communities. In the process of interaction among community members, consumers will share their information, knowledge, shopping experience, and usage experience with other members. Therefore, cross-border e-commerce companies should optimize and strengthen the management of virtual communities, set up simple, practical, and fully functional discussion and online communication channels, build convenient information interaction channels between members, between members and brands or platforms, encourage community members to actively participate in topics, initiate new topics, publish information, etc., create an atmosphere of consumer participation, and finally facilitate the final transaction.