Digital export, in Italy the road is still long
Selling overseas via e-commerce is a possibility that more and more Italian companies take into consideration, even if the growth margins of the digital export market in our country are still great. This is the trend that emerges from the Research Exercise Exam of the School of Management at the Politecnico di Milano , presented this morning in the Lombardy capital at the conference "Digital Export: a Challenge, Many Opportunities".
In 2016, the growth in Italian exports of consumer goods through digital channels marked + 24% compared to 2015 , with a market value of 7.5 billion euros . However, in absolute terms, this is still marginal, just under 6%, as compared with the total exports of consumer goods to the final customer.
Most of the products exported via e-commerce are those of Fashion , representing 60% of the cake, followed by Food (17%), which however recorded the highest growth rate of + 32%, and Furniture and Design (both at 12%).
Among distribution channels, top retailers, which account for 52% of Digital Exporter sales, are the top priority. Marketplaces (34%), a channel that grew more in 2016 with + 46%, private sales sites (8%) and eCommerce sites (6%).
Products that come from Italy purchased via e-commerce are mainly intended for customers in Europe (especially in Germany) and in the United States, as it grows in some Eastern European countries, including Russia and Poland. Export to other markets, such as South America, Southeast Asia, and China, remains marginal.
"In a highly competitive international environment, with consumers increasingly prone to using digital technologies, the adoption of e-commerce as a sales channel abroad can be a winning choice, useful in supporting the growth of Italian Exports - says Riccardo Mangiaracina , director of the Export Observatory . In Italy, the use of e-commerce channels to export is a recent phenomenon: volumes are growing and awareness of opportunities increases. But exploiting the opportunities offered by Digital Exporta- tion is not easy: preparation, skills, willingness to change, and adequate investment are needed. It is necessary to study the characteristics of the various countries and sectors to develop Export models that can unlock the potential of digital channels. "
In the general picture, direct export, managed by an Italian operator through the sites of producers, online or multichannel retailers, grows by 23%, but only two billion euros. The "indirect" online export, which passes through the e-commerce sites of the major foreign online retailers, generates 5.5 billion euros of turnover.
The Osservatorio Export survey on a sample of 100 Italian exporters in the consumer sectors reveals that about half of the companies in these sub-funds already use e-commerce channels to export. Of these, only 5% exports according to a strategy online only, 30% varies (exclusively offline or online) depending on the country of destination, 15% adopt a multichannel strategy in all countries. About 50% of digital exporters use e-commerce for no more than two years, about a quarter has started in just a year.
China's most promising online export market is China, which is today the country with the highest number of web users in the world, with about 688 million people who connect regularly to the network. "China is a country with high growth potential for Italian digital exports, but the shortage of practical guidance on how to effectively access this market and the uncertainty about return on investment can be a limit to the sale by e- Commerce - emphasizes Lucio Lamberti , senior advisor of the Export Observatory - There are at least six alternatives to exporting online to China: identifying the most suitable model for its features is crucial to the success of the initiative. Regardless of the industry and the platform used, however, investment in Digital Export to China is profitable in the medium term, but a key role is played by the profitable marketing effort and the impact on sales. "
Far from saturation, for the Italian online exporters, the US market, where e-commerce continues to grow, and B2c online sales, stood at EUR 489 billion in 2016. Although there are many obstacles to be taken into consideration: "The development of Digital Exports of Italian Companies to the US remains a difficult path to complete," commented Lucia Piscitello , Scientific Director of the Export Observatory - The companies They tend to have limited control over logistic processes, they are almost never present on site with warehouses or distribution facilities, serve external studies to address legal issues, and above all remain the problem of traditional export managers' skills that rarely have an adequate experience In digital and eCommerce. "
Finally, in the rest of Europe, the economic picture shows decisive signs of recovery after the crisis, but the forecasts for further growth are characterized by high uncertainty, even with different opportunities. In the Middle East, a boom for e-commerce is expected for the coming years: for those who want to turn to that market, it is important to focus on young people, effectively communicating Made in Italy and entering into agreements with local companies and distributors. Finally, Southeast Asia, where growth potential is still to be exploited, for sustained growth rates and trade facilitated by free trade agreements with the European Union.