Overview

This specialised B2B study was commissioned by one of our major Q-commerce platform clients to understand how Chinese cross-border e-commerce sellers operate, scale, and optimize their global marketplace presence. Focused on active sellers based in Mainland China and Macau, the study examined the strategies, challenges, and motivations of sellers who list and sell products to international consumers across major global markets.

The research explored:

• Operational behaviours and global selling motivations

• Preferred international markets and expansion priorities

• Fulfilment models, logistics choices, and global seller compliance and policy understanding

• Pricing evaluation and promotional strategies

• Advertising investments and platform behaviour & expectations

• Key pain points around global marketplace competition analysis in China, and international operations

With Chinese sellers playing a dominant role, this global ecommerce seller behavior study provided our client with a data-backed understanding of how to attract, support, and scale this critical seller segment across global Q-commerce ecosystems.

Business Challenge

Chinese cross-border sellers ranging from small storefronts to large multi-category operations form the backbone of global marketplace supply. However, their behaviours, decision drivers, and pain points vary widely depending on seller size, experience, and category specialization.

For the client, the primary challenge was navigating a seller ecosystem shaped by:

• Highly diverse operational maturity across small, mid-volume, and large-volume sellers

• Complex global fulfilment patterns influenced by logistics costs, customs processes, and marketplace rules

• Intensifying competition landscape across cross-border marketplaces

• Rapidly evolving expectations around advertising returns, platform tools, and seller support

• The need to understand satisfaction levels and unmet needs across product categories

To strengthen its global seller acquisition and retention strategy, the client required high-integrity B2B e-commerce seller motivation insights directly from verified Chinese sellers actively managing storefronts and international product listing optimization and operations.

Capturing this seller group demanded a specialised recruitment approach and strong marketplace verification processes.

Our Approach

The study was executed through XGP (Xcel Global Panel) using our dedicated Chinese e-commerce seller panel, enriched by last year’s B2B infrastructure and expanded to reach new seller cohorts across Mainland China and Macau.

1. Precision Targeting & Verification

Sellers were rigorously screened to ensure they were:

• Actively managing global storefronts

• Handling product listings, fulfilment flows, and international customer bases

• Selling across multiple global markets

• Authorized decision-makers for pricing, advertising, or logistics choices

Business verification included:

• Marketplace profiling

• Seller account validation

• Dedupe controls and device checks

• Logic consistency checks

2. Diverse Seller Representation

The study ensured balanced representation across:

• Seller types: small, mid-volume, and high-volume sellers

• Category mixes (consumer electronics, home, beauty, apparel, lifestyle, and more)

• Experience levels, from new exporters to established global sellers

• Regions across Mainland China and Macau, supported by real-time quota monitoring

3. High-Quality B2B Data Collection

• Delivered 500 verified B2B completes

• Structured questionnaire capturing deep operational and strategic insights

• Real-time monitoring to ensure reliability and even fill across seller segments

• Seamless digital execution designed for busy marketplace operators

Results

The study delivered comprehensive insights into Chinese sellers growth and how they navigate and thrive within global e-commerce ecosystems.

Key outcomes included:

• A detailed understanding of seller motivations, preferred markets, and global expansion roadmap

• Identification of fulfilment trends and global logistics patterns shaping delivery performance

• Clear visibility into Chinese merchant pricing strategy evaluation, promotional levers, and advertising investment behaviours

• Insights into q-commerce seller opportunity assessment and expectations, including tools, support, seller analytics, and service tiers

• Mapping of the most critical pain points across competition, compliance, and logistics

• Category-specific seller performance indicators and satisfaction benchmarks

The findings are now guiding the client's:

• China seller acquisition strategy

• Service-layer and platform improvement strategy for chinese sellers

• Global Q-commerce, Chinese online merchant global expansion trends and seller enablement initiatives

By delivering high-fidelity B2B insights from one of the world’s most influential seller ecosystems, this study reinforced Xcel Global Panel’s capability to execute complex, cross-border seller insights research with precision, speed, and methodological rigor.

Unlock powerful B2B insights that strengthen your marketplace seller strategy analysis China. Partner with us to understand sellers, scale ecosystems, and accelerate global digital commerce.