Firms have been advised to seek opportunities to sell to new markets abroad.Firms can significantly increase sales by using e-commerce to sell to foreign markets, it has been claimed.
In an interview with econsultancy.com, Martin Newman, author of Econsultancy's new Internationalisation of E-commerce Best Practice Guide, said "There is pretty significant scope and opportunity" for businesses to sell internationally, particularly using the internet.
However, he added that companies' success in doing so will depend on a number of factors, such as the category and sector they operate in, the local competitiveness of pricing and barriers to entry.
Mr Newman also outlines some of the common pitfalls firms make when moving into a new market.
"The most common is when they don’t localise the customer proposition in terms of local language, local payment options and products that meet the needs of local market customers. This is the cause. And the effect is poor sales," he said.
Ultimately, he advises firms looking to sell in new markets to pick their markets carefully, plan their entry thoroughly and to fully commit to the venture.
"Don't 'dip your toes'. Either do it properly or don't waste your time," he said.
Earlier this year, financial advisory firm Collins Stewart predicted global e-commerce sales to reach $694 billion (£440.8 billion) in 2012, up from $448 billion in 2009.
Written by Julian Poulter
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