Latent Class Segmentation of Cross-Border E-Commerce Consumers: Evidence from Korean AliExpress and Temu Users

Chinese cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) platforms have rapidly reshaped contemporary digital retail, achieving substantial adoption. However, prior research on consumer heterogeneity has yet to sufficiently examine how this fast-growing consumer base is segmented across these platforms’ broad category spectrum. The present study accordingly applies latent class analysis to 16 product purchase indicators from 600 Korean AliExpress or Temu users, and conducts bias-adjusted three-step analyses that relate segment membership to demographic and platform covariates and to distal outcomes in shopping behavior and platform awareness channels. Five qualitatively distinct segments emerge: Minimal, Fashion, Household, Auto & Home, and Omnivore shoppers. Omnivore shoppers, the smallest segment, register the highest per-transaction expenditure, satisfaction, and active search. Auto & Home shoppers form a second active-search tier for product search and deal seeking. Household shoppers, the lowest-income tier, show greater receptiveness to offline broadcast advertising. Fashion shoppers have the highest share of consumers aged younger than 20 years and the lowest satisfaction. Minimal shoppers, the largest segment, have the lowest per-transaction expenditure and item count. Platform affiliation crosscuts these segments, with Minimal and Auto & Home shoppers favoring AliExpress and the remaining three Temu. Consumer heterogeneity on CBEC platforms thus forms a clearly differentiated subpopulation structure.