More businesses worldwide are looking to expand their international efforts as the surge in cross-border services grows. Recent findings from Stripe revealed that two-thirds of businesses plan to expand their operations in untapped markets within the next two years, in an effort to diversify their earnings against economic uncertainties.
Roughly half of businesses surveyed also indicated that it’s much easier to operate an international business today than it was five years prior.
According to Stripe, businesses are revving up to sell internationally for a variety of reasons. In addition to benefiting from digital trade in untapped markets, there’s also high interest among consumers. In fact, 68% of consumers surveyed said they were willing to purchase physical goods from a company that’s based elsewhere. And slightly fewer (59%) said the same about purchasing cross-border digital services.
Technology has helped businesses streamline their cross-border operations, in addition to help them drive up sales.
“There has been a proliferation of digital rails and messaging schemes for making payments, receiving payments, clearing and settling on a global basis,” said Albert Bodine, Director of Commercial and Enterprise Payments at Javelin Strategy & Research.
“A small business that previously might have been limited to selling in her local geography is now a smartphone away from selling all over the world. It’s also important to note the potential for fiat-backed cryptocurrency, how those instruments extend even further the reach of global trade and how they provide reach to non-banked businesses. That is an enormous untapped market that digitization is going to allow us to target,” he said.
Looking Ahead
Digital has played a substantial role in enabling goods and services to be traded globally. It has also given birth to new business models such as subscription services, online marketplaces, and digital creators who sell their content online.
The key to scaling these business models is to ensure that the online payment platforms are convenient and secure, as this solidifies trust and can build long-lasting customer relationships.
