Cross-border Electronic Commerce: The Case of Sake Exports from Japan

Abstract

Electronic commerce has transformed the global business environment, providing a unique distribution channel to companies around the world. Cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) has emerged as a new shopping trend when shoppers purchase products and services online from merchants in other countries. This chapter examines CBEC with special reference to Japan’s sake industry. Although domestic demand of sake has been declining steadily in Japan since the 1970s, foreign exports have increased in recent years. CBEC enables Japanese sake breweries to export their products directly to consumers across the globe. In this study, we conducted simulations on four e-commerce platforms (Amazon, eBay, Tmall Global, and Rakuten) to compare the costs associated with CBEC. Our findings suggest that online operating fee is one of the major considerations in selecting an e-commerce platform for exporting sake via CBEC.