The Universal Postal Union E-COMMERCE GUIDE Published by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) Berne, Switzerland Printed in Switzerland by the printing services of the International Bureau of the UPU Copyright © 2020 Universal Postal Union All rights reserved Except as otherwise indicated, the copyright in this publication is owned by the Universal Postal Union. Reproduction is authorized for non-commercial purposes, subject to proper acknowledgement of the source. This authorization does not extend to any material identified in this publication as being the copyright of a third party. Authorization to reproduce such third party materials must be obtained from the copyright holders concerned. AUTHOR: UPU Digital Economy and Trade Programme, Daniel Nieto Corredera TITLE: “UPU E-Commerce Guide” 2020 ISBN: 978-92-95025-97-4 DESIGN: Sonja Denovski, UPU graphic arts Unit CONTACT: [email protected] The boundaries used on the maps in this publication do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations or the UPU CONTENTS List of Figures ..............................................................................................................................................................................6 List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................7 Foreword .......................................................................................................................................................9 Acknowledgments .....................................................................................................................................11 Chapter I: Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................14 Preface ........................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Motivation .................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Connections between e-commerce and the World Postal Strategy ............................................. 15 Connections between e-commerce and the Sustainable Development Goals .......................16 Trade facilitation ....................................................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter II: E-commerce: trends and drivers ................................................................................... 18 Global statistics in e-commerce ....................................................................................................................... 19 E-commerce trends and drivers ...................................................................................................................... 20 UPU technology radar ...................................................................................................................................20 Third-party logistics ........................................................................................................................................21 Explosion in smartphone applications .......................................................................................................21 Increased range of payments for underbanked shoppers ....................................................................22 Blockchain-enabled platforms .....................................................................................................................22 The Internet of Things ....................................................................................................................................23 Artificial intelligence ........................................................................................................................................23 Virtual reality....................................................................................................................................................23 E-commerce competitive landscape ............................................................................................................. 23 Emerging challenges for Posts to compete in e-commerce .................................................................23 Consumers ............................................................................................................................................................ 24 Retailers ................................................................................................................................................................ 24 New B2C parcel competitors ........................................................................................................................... 24 Efficient postal services are the heart of e-commerce ............................................................................. 24 How to be competitive in a soaring e-commerce market ....................................................................24 Why are Posts entering the e-commerce market ...................................................................................25 What are the main obstacles for Posts entering the e-commerce market ......................................25 Posts’ major competitors in e-commerce .................................................................................................26 Chapter III: E-commerce value chains....................................................................................................................28 E-commerce value chain ...................................................................................................................................... 29 E-commerce physical value chain ..............................................................................................................29 E-commerce digital value chain ..................................................................................................................31 Chapter IV: E-commerce key elements ...........................................................................................34 Digital key elements .............................................................................................................................................. 36 E-commerce portals ...................................................................................................................................... 36 Online philatelic and postal products shop ................................................................................................ 36 E-shops in third-party marketplaces ............................................................................................................. 36 Online postal shopping portal (shopping mall) .................................................................................... 36 E-marketplace ...................................................................................................................................................... 37 Promotional channels ................................................................................................................................... 38 Social media .......................................................................................................................................................... 38 Direct marketing .................................................................................................................................................. 38 E-mail marketing ................................................................................................................................. 38 Web advertisement ............................................................................................................................. 38 Search engine optimization.............................................................................................................. 38 Pay-per-click advertising ................................................................................................................... 39 Digital business models ........................................................................................................................................ 39 E-commerce portals ....................................................................................................................................... 39 Postal e-shops ....................................................................................................................................................... 39 E-shops in third-party marketplaces .............................................................................................................. 39 Online postal shopping portal ......................................................................................................................... 39 E-marketplace ....................................................................................................................................................... 40 Summary of business models .......................................................................................................................41 Key elements of payment ...................................................................................................................................