CEO's Tips - Going Global Season | Practical Experience on Cross - border Platforms: Creating Blockbusters and Coping with Risks

Frequent rule changes, rising costs, and the ebbing of dividends. In 2025, cross - border e - commerce has entered a chaotic period. How should platforms operate? How can sellers keep up with the rhythm and avoid risks? Can blockbuster products still be created? Is refinement and branding a trend or a false proposition?

At 19:00 on May 8th, the overseas expansion season of "CEO's Tips" invited Zhang Bo, the founder of AnkerMake, and Yuan Yuan, the senior director of Walmart Global E - commerce, to discuss with us the underlying logic and breakthrough secrets of cross - border e - commerce platforms.

This live broadcast mainly focused on the following issues:

1. How did AnkerMake find a blue ocean in a red - ocean market? What are the key focus areas for Walmart Global E - commerce this year?
2. What are the common "hidden pitfalls" in cross - border platform operations, and how can they be avoided?
3. How do the two guests view the relationship between brands and users in the cross - border e - commerce path? How does the omni - channel model help brand growth?
4. How should we view the platform's traffic mechanism, and how can we make more effective investments?
5. How should we view the life cycle of blockbuster products? How can AI tools help cross - border sellers reduce costs and increase efficiency?
6. What issues should novice sellers pay attention to when operating independent websites and e - commerce platforms? How can they maintain profits in the fierce price war?
7. Cross - border e - commerce is shifting from "mass - distribution and shipment" to "brand deep - cultivation". Please provide three tips for sellers going global.

The following is a conversation between the two guests and 36Kr. Some content has been organized and edited:

36Kr: How did AnkerMake find a blue ocean in a red - ocean market? What are the key focus areas for Walmart Global E - commerce this year?

Zhang Bo: First of all, when we entered the charging category in 2020, the market was generally skeptical. At that time, the market pattern was relatively fixed. There were brands like Anker and Aukey in the overseas market, and Ugreen and Baseus in the domestic market. Most industry observers believed that this market had fallen into homogeneous competition, mainly concentrated in the dimensions of price, efficiency, and scale. However, our team decided to enter the market based on two core judgments: First, team members had R & D experience in leading mobile phone and drone companies and had made breakthroughs in battery technology and charging and discharging chip technologies such as gallium nitride and silicon carbide. Second, the founding team members were electronics geeks. Our original intention was to satisfy our own interests and hobbies. Although we couldn't predict the market size, we were sure that the products we sold could achieve a break - even point.

Secondly, in the early stage, we chose the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform. Besides our lack of experience in operating traditional e - commerce channels, we also aimed to accurately reach our target users. The initial seed users of our power bank products were actually those who carried cameras and drones when traveling and had high - intensity charging needs. During the development of the smart glasses project, we also observed deeper market opportunities. At that time, Meta and Ray - Ban collaborated on a shooting - type smart glasses. Its first - person perspective shooting function was recognized by professional users, but its battery life was insufficient. When we were invited to develop supporting charging equipment, we found that the charging interface was designed on the nose bridge, which not only affected the appearance but also hindered the use. All these prompted us to rethink the product logic. Instead of developing poorly - adapted accessories, we should fundamentally reconstruct the product architecture. Our success in the smart glasses product also confirmed the team's core methodology: being user - pain - point - oriented and seeking an innovative balance between technology and user experience.

Finally, our product strategy is not to chase market hotspots. Among the more than 10 new products developed each year, only one or two can become blockbusters, and most of the others perform averagely. However, this is also the key to maintaining our market competitiveness. By continuously making technical trial - and - error and accumulating experience, we can accurately grasp user needs in key products.

Yuan Yuan: Walmart Global E - commerce has three major potential categories for strong recruitment this year:

First, auto parts and motorcycle parts. Many Walmart stores in North America can provide related services, such as tire replacement and car repair. From a customized screw or leather case to protective parts and seats, as long as you can find the real needs of users, it's a very large market.

Second, fast - moving consumer goods, food, health products, and beauty products. For example, beauty tools, clothing, food, and health products. As long as they are fully certified and meet the matching qualifications and requirements, they can have a good sales channel on Walmart.

Third, home furnishings and clothing. Our core is about things for the home. Whether it's home department stores or clothing accessories, we really need domestic brands and suppliers to join hands with us.

36Kr: What are the common "hidden pitfalls" in cross - border platform operations, and how can they be avoided?

Zhang Bo: First of all, the "most costly pitfall" is in logistics. We've lost a lot of goods. The uncertainty and safety risks of trans - ocean transportation are very high. It's very important to find a reliable logistics partner with a big brand. In case of an accident, whether they can compensate and solve the problem is crucial. When choosing a logistics provider, I suggest not being greedy for cheap prices. Whether it's Walmart, Amazon, JD, or Cainiao, they all have global logistics networks. These are all options for you. Although there are some price differences, you can buy peace of mind and long - term security. Once an accident occurs in logistics, the loss will be huge.

Another common mistake that many small - scale entrepreneurs often make is follow - on selling. When they see a product selling well, they want to find a similar product to copy completely without any adjustment. Such homogeneous products rise quickly and fall quickly. Products that are easy to imitate and plagiarize have a short lifespan. Eventually, all the time, energy, and operating costs you've invested will be wasted.

Finally, products must be fully verified in the domestic market before being promoted and sold overseas. The payment collection and product cycle in cross - border business are very long. In the domestic market, it may be short - term and fast - paced. If one link loses money, the loss won't be particularly large. However, the resources, energy, manpower, and time invested in overseas goods increase geometrically. Once a problem occurs, it's difficult to solve it efficiently, which will cause damage to the brand's reputation. Therefore, before the first - wave after - sales feedback of the product in the domestic market comes out, you must be more cautious in choosing products and fully verify whether the product should be launched. Don't blindly launch it into the overseas market.

Yuan Yuan: First of all, I think the core of a blockbuster product lies in its high - quality, cost - effectiveness, and ability to meet the real needs of consumers. Walmart Global E - commerce platform has a lot of data and dashboards to help understand user needs. For example, after merchants enter the platform and provide user reviews, there are corresponding AI tools to help you analyze and sort out which reviews are negative and which are high - frequency. Sellers can quickly sort out product selling points based on the feedback.

Secondly, logistics is a crucial point in cross - border e - commerce operations. What kind of logistics plan should be chosen? How to cooperate more stably with partners in the first - leg, main - leg, and last - leg transportation? How to optimize costs? All these should be well - planned. For example, in addition to supporting the third - party front - end WFS overseas warehouse, Walmart platform also has its own main - leg products. These are resources accumulated over the years in the global supply chain. The platform opens them to third - party sellers, allowing everyone to have a more stable and reliable logistics solution.

Finally, I think if you do a good job in product selection and logistics, you've completed half of the initial store operation. The other half is traffic acquisition. Especially novice cross - border sellers can make more use of the platform's tools to make more effective investments on the platform faster and better.

36Kr: How do the two guests view the relationship between brands and users in the cross - border e - commerce path? How does the omni - channel model help brand growth?

Zhang Bo: First of all, our first - wave products were mainly promoted and sold in the domestic market. At that time, we identified a group of digital geeks in the domestic market who could meet our expected product sales. We could quickly reach this group. Since we were not sure about the preferences of overseas users, we observed which platforms had good sales of overseas shooting - type/high - power charging and discharging equipment. Then we noticed several blockbuster projects on Kickstarter and decided to try launching our products on this platform first.

Secondly, to discuss where the seed users would finally stay, we built a user discussion group on Discord. This group has always been very active, and we've received a lot of positive feedback. Some good suggestions have also been implemented in our products. In our opinion, the people on Discord are those who are interested in digital games. Therefore, we've retained our users here, allowing them to discuss and voice their opinions together, which can also enhance user stickiness. This is also a relatively core private - domain traffic for us.

Finally, there are still differences in the demand points between European, American, and domestic users. The domestic market has less consumption power for power banks priced at around 1,000 yuan compared to the overseas market. We mainly promote products in the price range of 200 - 300 yuan in the domestic market, while in the overseas market, it's high - power products with a unit price of 100 - 200 US dollars.

Yuan Yuan: First of all, offline is an inevitable part of the process for users to discover and understand a brand. Secondly, the characteristic of the omni - channel model is not just having one more sales channel. It mainly helps with brand exposure and is also helpful for brand insight and operation. In addition to providing omni - channel exposure, Walmart also helps sellers acquire customers more accurately.

Let me give you two examples. In 2023, a motorcycle seller entered the online e - commerce platform. Its main products were power motorcycles and off - road vehicles. Since these vehicles are large in size, the products are not only sold online but also displayed offline. Consumers can experience them in the store and then place an order online. For high - priced products, the purchase consideration period is longer, and the omni - channel model is more suitable. There is also a well - known brand called Carote in China. After going global to North America, its cookware products are very suitable for Walmart Global E - commerce users. They have a lot of online and offline displays, which also helps the seller build a brand image in the North American market.

36Kr: How should we view the platform's traffic mechanism, and how can we make more effective investments?

Zhang Bo: First of all, our company's target audience is relatively precise, mainly digital geeks. So our advertisements will target a specific group of people. Secondly, a very key point in advertising investment is that, whether it's domestic or overseas e - commerce platforms, they may provide ROI advertising data. The platform has difficulty distinguishing between conversions and clicks from users who accidentally click on the ad link and those who are interested after seeing it on the platform.

For example, we conducted an extreme test. After not investing in in - platform advertisements for a period of time, we observed how much the sales conversion would drop. During the process, although we found that the GMV did decrease, the in - platform net profit increased in some periods. This proves that the advertising screens we invested in did not bring in effective in - platform conversions and traffic. At this time, we would optimize the advertising strategy. In addition, we also tried an advertising strategy of investing all our profits. In fact, 70% - 80% of the additional advertising expenses did not bring in effective conversions. After cutting these additional advertising expenses, the profit did not decline, and the sales trend did not drop rapidly either.

Therefore, during the judgment process, we can conduct some extreme tests, completely eliminate some variables, and observe the real path of traffic and conversion. Don't just look at the results presented by advertising tools. This may be because our product audience is relatively niche and segmented, so we can conduct extreme tests. Many top - selling products rely on a large amount of in - platform traffic conversion to maintain sales, and they may not be suitable for such extreme tests. In general, these attempts have made us more clearly understand the actual conversion path of advertising, the relationship between product presentation and sales. Therefore, don't be confused by the in - platform statistical tools.

Yuan Yuan: First of all, the platform's traffic distribution is a relatively comprehensive mechanism, including factors such as product quality and service evaluation. For example, Walmart Global E - commerce provides a lot of advertising training. In the first 90 days after merchants enter the platform, we offer a lot of free training to all sellers, aiming to help them quickly get started. Secondly, if sellers have a strong demand for brand exposure, we also have a consultant team to accompany them in advertising investment tests and various analyses to find out what kind of strategies can bring more exposure to the brand. These services are all free. Finally, in addition to in - platform traffic, if a brand can bring good off - platform traffic to its products, we also have corresponding support mechanisms to help sellers build a healthier and more complete traffic system.

Of course, if a good product has traffic and advertising support, it will surely explode faster and have better - controlled sales. However, as long as the product is good enough and the product quality is ensured, a well - done listing can also generate orders through natural traffic. This also depends on the competition situation of the category.

36Kr: How should we view the life cycle of blockbuster products? How can AI tools help cross - border sellers reduce costs and increase efficiency?

Yuan Yuan: First of all, from the platform's perspective, the duration of blockbuster products in different categories is determined by sales nodes and users' replacement purchase cycles. Secondly, Chinese brands and cross - border sellers have a great advantage in continuously optimizing the supply chain and optimizing products based on consumer feedback. This is the most core factor in maintaining competitiveness. In the process of optimizing the supply chain and products, how to improve insight and quickly obtain user feedback is worthy of discussion. Finally, Walmart Global E - commerce has corresponding AI tools to help sellers find keywords in user reviews, see more positive or negative reviews, and help sellers iterate and update products in the future.

Zhang Bo: First of all, 3C digital products have a large cycle. Every year, leading mobile phone and laptop manufacturers will update their products. Although the processor and platform updates of laptops are not significant, it gives users the impression that products are iterated and upgraded every year. The same goes for cameras and drones. So, generally, the prime selling period of a product is evaluated to be about 12 months. For our charging products, the actual effective sales period is 36 months. Usually, we plan the entire life cycle of a product for 1 - 3 years. From the user's perspective, the replacement frequency of power banks is a bit faster. According to our current research, it's about 18 months, which is the time when users start to be interested in buying a new one. Since chargers are used less frequently and are less likely to be lost, the replacement frequency may exceed 24 months.

Secondly, we also use AI tools in our workflow. For example, the fastest - implemented application is product images. Previously, model photos had to be taken on - site, and online materials looked fake. Now, we can directly use AI to generate very realistic model photos. It's difficult for ordinary users to tell whether they are real - shot or AI - generated. It should be noted that it's still a bit difficult for AI to generate model photos at a very high level, especially in generating refined details. We still need to gradually explore and experiment. If it's just to generate a simple scene, this technology is already quite mature. However, the scene photos generated by AI must avoid looking cheap, especially for high - priced products. We need to carefully polish them to find a balance.

In addition, AI can help with the initial data sorting. Whether it's for advertising or market research, we can use AI to summarize the data first and present it according to the dimensions that merchants want. As an initial screening and sorting tool for data, AI is very good.

Finally, AI can help products make breakthroughs and innovations. Our product evolution is based on a strong - memory AI model and is built from scratch. The core selling point of the product is to make it unforgettable. This is the form of AI combined with a RAG vector database, becoming a truly memory - capable AI assistant.

36Kr: What issues should novice sellers pay attention to when operating independent websites and e - commerce platforms? How can they maintain profits in the fierce price war?

Zhang Bo: First of all, in the early stage of the project, only one colleague was responsible for our independent website. We borrowed the graphic visual materials from our Kickstarter project, used templates to complete the website construction. Then we migrated our Facebook and Google advertising accounts and continued to invest in advertising to achieve natural conversion. This was mainly due to the complete set of material resources from the Kickstarter project.

Secondly, for those who want to build an independent website from scratch, it's best to choose a mature product that has been verified and sold on existing