What the numbers say: Over half (54.1%) of supply chain professionals surveyed in 2022 believed that the effects of a recession would be a leading problem for cross-border e-commerce operations in 2023 and 2024. Only 40.2% of respondents believed that the cost of shipping would be a top problem. Relevance: Over 80% of supply chain professionals surveyed between Dec. 16, 2022, and Jan. 26, 2023, found that costs related to shipping were the leading challenges for cross-border e-commerce that year. They pointed to shipping costs in terms of time and money. Of these shipping-related problems, 42.6% of respondents believed that delays related to customs were a chief problem, while 41.4% said customs regulatory compliance was the key problem. These results indicate that surveyed professionals overestimated the risks that a recession posed for e-commerce in 2023 and underestimated the risks linked to shipping problems. Brands that should care: E-commerce platforms may consider short-term pivots toward domestic online sales until temporary supply chain disruptions are resolved. Until then, disruptions related to customs delays and other shipping problems are generating rising demand for solutions. Logistics firms may benefit from designing and offering services designed to reduce the growing complexities of customs regulations for clients. |
