Cross-Border E-Commerce Data Set: Choosing the Right Fulfillment Option

Abstract

We provide a set of data on cross-border e-commerce sales from a fast-fashion e-retailer, Babyonlinedress, which stocks wedding gowns and full dresses from China but sells to markets overseas through multiple cross-border platforms, including Amazon, AliExpress, DHgate, etc. The data set contains normalized weekly orders on Amazon Marketplace over a three-year period, from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017. In total, we have collected M = 13,719 weekly orders for N = 1,166 different stock keeping units (SKUs) in the two fulfillment channels facilitated by Amazon: (i) Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and (ii) Fulfillment by Seller (FBS, also known as Fulfillment by Merchant). The orders for some SKUs were fulfilled entirely by seller during their life cycles on Amazon, whereas the rest were first fulfilled by seller for several months (testing period) before being transferred to FBA. This data set serves to illuminate the impact of cross-border fulfillment options on sales and bottom line of e-retailers.