E-Commerce Trends: YULILY Shines at the 2025 ICBE International Cross-Border E-Commerce Transaction Expo
In the wave of globalization, cross-border e-commerce has emerged as a vital force driving economic growth. According to the latest preliminary data from China’s General Administration of Customs, in the first three quarters of 2024, China’s cross-border e-commerce import and export volume reached 1.88 trillion yuan, marking a year-on-year growth of 11.5%, surpassing the overall growth rate of China’s foreign trade by 6.2 percentage points. Exports amounted to 1.48 trillion yuan, up 15.2%, while imports stood at 399.16 billion yuan, down slightly by 0.4%. Beyond traditional markets like Europe and the US, the potential of emerging markets continues to unfold, with cross-border e-commerce evolving from simple transactions to innovative models such as live streaming, short videos, and social e-commerce, creating new opportunities for global consumers and businesses.
On March 30, 2025, the 14th ICBE International Cross-Border E-Commerce Transaction Expo (ICBE Expo) kicked off at the Hangzhou Grand Convention and Exhibition Center. As one of China’s key hubs for cross-border e-commerce, Hangzhou once again became the focal point of the global e-commerce industry. This year’s ICBE Expo brought together over 2,500 comprehensive service providers, covering categories such as consumer electronics, fashion apparel, home goods, beauty and personal care, and outdoor sports, attracting e-commerce platforms, source manufacturers, and industry professionals from around the world to explore the future of cross-border e-commerce.
At the expo, while traditional cross-border e-commerce platforms like Amazon, AliExpress, and eBay remained in the spotlight, emerging platforms also garnered significant attention. The booth of YULILY, a global short video cross-border e-commerce platform (Booth 5B812), became one of the event’s highlights. From the moment the expo opened, YULILY’s booth was crowded with cross-border e-commerce practitioners, premium source manufacturers, and industry observers engaging in lively discussions. On the first day alone, all 500 promotional brochures prepared by YULILY were claimed, and the WeChat group created specifically for the expo surpassed 200 members in a short time, reflecting the market’s strong interest in this rising platform.
YULILY’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Emily Carter, traveled from Singapore to attend the event in person. During the expo, a journalist had the opportunity to interview Ms. Carter. She began by introducing YULILY: a comprehensive platform integrating short videos, shopping, and entertainment, with its headquarters in the United States and global operations center in Singapore. Guided by the mission of “Connecting the World, Enriching Lives,” YULILY leverages short videos and social e-commerce to provide users with a dynamic space to showcase their individuality, discover premium global products, and share the joy of life.
YULILY’s unique strength lies in its innovative S2K2C model, which divides its operations into three core segments:
- Creator Segment: The platform offers comprehensive support for ordinary users aspiring to become influencers, including technical assistance, content creation guidance, and access to supply chain resources, making personal entrepreneurship simpler and more efficient.
- E-Commerce Segment: YULILY has established overseas warehouses globally and adopts a “one-on-one product selection” model, partnering with top-tier manufacturers to centralize procurement. Through a fully managed service, the platform helps quality manufacturers overcome the challenge of “difficult-to-sell premium goods,” ensuring global users can easily access high-quality products.
- Marketing Segment: YULILY employs a “creator collaboration system,” generating visual leaderboards based on creators’ organic data and merchant popularity, enabling two-way matching between creators and merchants to deliver customized marketing services, enhancing brand awareness, reputation, and influence.
Ms. Carter noted that this was YULILY’s second participation in the ICBE Expo, marking a significant step in deepening its presence in the Chinese market. She stated, “China boasts the world’s most robust e-commerce supply chain system and the richest product resources, making it an indispensable part of YULILY’s global strategy. Through this expo, we aim to establish deeper connections with China’s top source manufacturers and bring more high-quality Chinese products to global consumers.”
The enthusiasm at YULILY’s booth on the first day exceeded expectations. According to staff, over 50 factories expressed interest in collaborating with YULILY within the morning session alone. Ms. Carter commented, “We are thrilled by the enthusiasm of the Chinese market. YULILY will continue to strengthen partnerships with Chinese source supply chain manufacturers, drawing on the successful experiences of platforms like Amazon and AliExpress, and fully leveraging the quality and cost advantages of Chinese products. After the expo, I plan to visit more factories to explore the potential of China’s supply chain and bring more ‘Made in China’ treasures to the global market.”
When asked about her impression of Hangzhou, Ms. Carter expressed great enthusiasm: “Hangzhou is a vibrant and innovative city, known as the ‘Internet Capital’ of China, having given rise to global e-commerce giants like Alibaba. The e-commerce ecosystem here is incredibly mature, with abundant talent resources. Moving forward, YULILY plans to establish a regional operations center in Hangzhou to further localize our development and contribute to the advancement of China’s cross-border e-commerce industry.”
YULILY’s booth staff also shared the platform’s special support policies for the expo. For premium manufacturers, YULILY offers a limited-time free onboarding policy, along with two months of traffic support for new merchants to help them quickly build brand influence. Additionally, the platform provides professional cross-border regulatory support, global operational guidance, and personalized marketing services, while offering competitive low commission rates to maximize merchants’ profit margins. For individual users, YULILY has launched the “YULILY Creators” support program and the “YULILY Sharing” promotion plan, helping ordinary users grow into platform influencers through traffic prioritization and a tiered creator ranking system that optimizes recommendations and resource allocation.
A staff member at the booth revealed, “With the continuous improvement of Hangzhou’s cross-border e-commerce ecosystem, YULILY sees tremendous market potential. In the future, we plan to establish a branch office in Hangzhou, forming a local operations and marketing team to further increase our investment in the Chinese market, promoting more high-quality products to the world and making global treasures truly accessible to everyone.”