The mosaic factory is not completely absent from cross-border e-commerce, but there are indeed some common industry challenges and limiting factors that have led to a relatively low penetration rate of cross-border e-commerce. The main reasons why we do not engage in cross-border e-commerce can be summarized as follows:
1. Low domestic consumer awareness and market acceptance
- Domestic consumers’ perception of mosaics is still limited to traditional low-end building materials (such as kitchen and bathroom tiling materials), considering them “difficult to clean due to many gaps”, and they tend to choose large-sized tiles or coatings as alternatives. In contrast, the European and American markets recognize the artistic and personalized value of mosaics, making our factory more dependent on export orders.
- Domestic demand is mainly for engineering orders and customized small orders, which conflicts with the need for large-scale inventory in cross-border e-commerce.
2. Production costs and logistics bottlenecks
- Mosaic production is still mainly manual, with low automation and high costs. The logistics costs of cross-border e-commerce (especially for small-batch retail) can account for 20% to 30% of the total product cost, further compressing profit margins.
- Mosaics are fragile and have high transportation requirements. The cost of building overseas warehouses is high, and direct mail delivery takes a long time (7-15 days), affecting the consumer experience.
3. Industry competition and insufficient branding
- Domestic mosaic enterprises are highly homogeneous, mainly competing on price, and lack brand awareness. Cross-border e-commerce requires strong brand premium capabilities, while international markets are dominated by mosaic brands from countries like Italy and Spain, which have advantages in design and craftsmanship in the high-end market.
- Some enterprises have attempted to transform through e-commerce channels, but they need to invest a lot of resources to build independent websites or operate platforms, which is difficult for small and medium-sized factories to bear.
4. Policy and compliance risks
- Cross-border e-commerce needs to deal with trade barriers in different countries (such as high tariffs, labeling standards, etc.), and the mosaic industry lacks unified international standards, resulting in high compliance costs for enterprises.
- Data security and payment compliance issues also increase operational difficulties.
5. Dependence on traditional channels and slow transformation
- Most factories have long relied on offline exhibitions (we participate in the US and Italian stone exhibitions every year) and dealer networks, and have insufficient experience in e-commerce operations (such as social media marketing, independent website traffic generation).
6. Future breakthrough directions
- Niche markets: Targeting the DIY decoration and personalized customization needs in Europe and the United States (such as mosaic wedding photo murals).
- Technological upgrades: Introducing inkjet printing and automation to reduce labor costs.
- Policy dividends: Utilizing the tax refund policies of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones (such as the 9810 model) to accelerate capital return.
Post time: Aug-22-2025