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Monthly Business Report
EP02 What's Trending:
Sell Higher with Local Prevalent Products
CONTENT
Abstract
1. Top Product Categories in E-Commerce
2. Analysis of Local Prevalent Products
2.1 US Market Analysis
2.2 Australia Market Analysis
3. Common Incoterms You Need to Know
3.1 Definition of Incoterms
3.2 Frequently Used Incoterms
3.3 The Transfer of Risk
4. How to Boost Business with Dropshipping
4.1 Benefits of Dropshipping
4.2 Dropshipping on Made-in-China.com
References
Abstract
As the retailers, wholesalers, or manufacturers, they would like to know more about the customer behaviors. Made-in-China.com chose 4 trendy industries based on the statement and analyzed the local trending products in e-commerce. This report also contains the common International Commercial Terms as well as the dropshipping business.
1.Top Product Categories in E-Commerce
With all the tough situations changing around the world, the boom in the e-commerce market has been significant. Especially as the retailer, wholesaler, or manufacturer, they deeply would like to grab the business market all the time. Whether you're a brand new seller beginning your research or an experienced trader, it is always difficult to figure out which product category to focus on.
Take Amazon as an example, with 20+ categories to choose from, how to narrow down your research and find the best niche to focus on? Which product categories are more profitable for your business? We will choose some leading industries to deep into the research.
According to the 2021 State of the Amazon Seller Report, these are the top categories, including the percentage of sellers who have products listed in them. [1]
(Table 1: Product Category Rank by Sellers)
*The sellers could select multiple categories.
Are these categories the best choice in the competitive market? Let us jump into another table: The rank product category by average profit margin.
(Table 2: Product Category Rank by Average Profit Margin)
Profitability is a critical consideration when selling on the e-commerce platform, but you are supposed to keep an open mind to find the true best opportunity.
- Some categories may be more profitable than others, but every category has profitable sub-categories within it.
- Less popular categories can be more profitable than popular categories. For example, Luggage & Travel Gear, ranking the 4th from the last on the Top Categories but is potential and more profitable.
- Home & Kitchen and Sports & Outdoors are among the Top Categories among sellers, but both have plenty of subcategories that are not profitable because of increased competition, price wars, and direct competition.
Based on this statement and the categories on Made-in-China.com, we will choose four potential industries to focus on - Consumer Electronics / Bags, Cases & Boxes / Toys / Office Supplies.
2.Analysis of Local Prevalent Products
The information below is collected from Amazon country websites, collected on April 1, 2021. (15:37UTC+8). The photo displayed of each top-selling product is a similar product found on Made-in-China.com.
2.1 US Market Analysis
Bags, Cases & Boxes
Handbag business
Most trending brands: Michael Kors, COACH, Fossil, ALDO, Nautica
Features of best selling products: Large capital, practical, affordable
Prevalent product tags:
According to the brand tags, for handbags, “women”, “fashion”, and other types of bags are the most common keywords that customers searched.
You can find product suppliers here: https://www.made-in-china.com/special/fashion-bag/
Bags, Cases & Boxes
Luggage business
Most trending brands: Rockland, Samsonite, AMERICAN TOURISTER, Coolife, Amazon Basics
Features of best selling products: Local brands, expandable, stain-resistant
Prevalent product tags:
Customers who purchase luggage are often more concerned about its function and size, such as whether it has a lock and whether it is lightweight.
You can find product suppliers here: https://www.made-in-china.com/special/luggage-travel-bag/
Consumer Electronics
Laptop business
Most trending brands: Acer, Asus, HP, Apple
Features of best selling products: Top rank, settings, storage
Prevalent product tags:
For laptop, people always care most about the storage and settings, such as “GB”, “RAM”, and “Display”.
You can find product suppliers here: https://www.made-in-china.com/special/computer/
Consumer Electronics
Mobile phone business
Most trending brands: Apple, Google, Samsung
Features of best selling products: Smartphone, power-saving, high pixel
Prevalent product tags:
Customers on the US Amazon usually prefer the iPhone because of the local brand, also with the popularity of short videos, large capacity has become one of the biggest demands of mobile phones.
You can find product suppliers here: https://www.made-in-china.com/special/mobile-phone-accessories/
Office Supplies
Notebook business
Features of best selling products:
Lined Journal Notebook
Perforated Pages
Medium (5.7" x 8.3") - Soft Cover Notebooks
Mead Spiral Notebook
Different Colors
Prevalent product tags:
Office Supplies
Projector business
Features of best-selling products:
Based on the first page search results for “Projectors” on Amazon.com (US), the features of the most popular products include: "VANKYO LEISURE 3 Mini Projector, 1080P and 170'' Display Supported, Portable Movie Projector with 40,000 Hrs LED Lamp Life, Compatible with TV Stick, PS4, HDMI, VGA, TF, AV and USB"; 'DR. J Professional HI-04 Mini Projector Outdoor Movie Projector with 100Inch Projector Screen, 1080P Supported Compatible with TV Stick, Video Games, HDMI, USB, TF, VGA ,AUX, AV.
Prevalent product tags:
The most common product tags are led, 1080, tv, hdmi, wifi.
You can find product suppliers here:https://www.made-in-china.com/special/office-supplies/
Toys
Toys for kids business
Features of best selling products:
Castle Play Tent With Glow In The Dark Stars, Conveniently Folds In To A Carrying Case
Aqua Magic Doodle Mat 40 X 32 Inches
Educational Toys Gifts
Easy Score Basketball Set, Blue
Make Up Kit with Stylish Bag
Prevalent product tags:
Toys
Video games toys business
Features of best selling products:
Tablet, 7" Display, 16 GB, Blue Kid-Proof Case
Laugh & Learn Game & Learn Controller, Multicolor
16 Bit Handheld Games
HD Classic Retro Video Games
Indoor Holiday Fun
Outdoor Yard Game
Prevalent product tags:
You can find product suppliers here: https://www.made-in-china.com/special/toys/
2.2 Australia Market Analysis
Bags, Cases & Boxes
Handbag business
Most trending brands: Kate Spade New York, Michael Kors, The Sak, Coach, NEWHEY
Features of best selling products: According to our observation, the features show as followed:large volume, attractive colour, well-known brand
Prevalent product tags:
If you would like to make a considerable revenue, please take an eye on tags: bag\case\women.
You can find product suppliers here: https://www.made-in-china.com/special/fashion-bag/
Bags, Cases & Boxes
Luggage business
Most trending brands: Samsonite, Trunki, Eagle Creek, American Tourister, Delsey
Features of best selling products: The best selling luggage always own the features like:Wearable, Inexpensive,beautiful appearance
Prevalent product tags:
Luggage has the vital tags: Luggage, Hardside,Children.
You can find product suppliers here: https://www.made-in-china.com/special/luggage-travel-bag/
Consumer Electronics
Laptop business
Features of best selling products:
According to our analysis, the features show as followed:Brilliant Intel Core, Imposing appearance, Cost effective price
Prevalent product tags:
These 3 tags will be better when you set the description of product:Laptop,FHD,SSD.
You can find product suppliers here: https://www.made-in-china.com/special/computer/
Consumer Electronics
Mobile phone business
Features of best selling products:The mobile phone takes the ‘portable, cost-effective,high-configuration’ as the features
Prevalent product tags:
The indispensable tags will be iphone, Phone, Mount.
You can find product suppliers here: https://www.made-in-china.com/special/mobile-phone-accessories/
Office Supplies
Notebook business
Features of best selling products:
Erasable, Reusable Wirebound Notebook
Eco-Friendly Notebook with 1 Pilot Frixion Pen & 1 Microfiber Cloth
Deep Space Gray Cover
Hard Cover/Fine PU Leather, Inner Pocket
Magnetic Buckle Closure
Prevalent product tags:
Office Supplies
Projector business
Features of best selling products:
16:9 HD Foldable Anti-Crease Portable Projector
Movies Screen for Home Theater
Universal Adjustable White Ceiling Projector
Full-Set Bag for Home Theater
16:9, 8K 4K Ultra HD 3D
Foldable Wrinkle-Free
Prevalent product tags:
You can find product suppliers here:https://www.made-in-china.com/special/office-supplies/
Toys
Toys for kids business
Features of best selling products: Educational, National Geographic, practical
Prevalent product tags:
Parents are concerned about the functions of toys as well as Christmas gift.
Toys
Video Games Toys business
Features of best-selling products:
Based on the first page search results for “Video Games Toys” on Amazon.au (Australia), the specifications of the most popular products consisted of: ‘Jenga Game - Classic Strategy Games with Wooden Blocks - Stone Monster Toy Figure', 'Outward Hound - Nina Ottoson 'Arcade Classics - Ms Pac-Man Retro Mini Arcade Game', 'Tamagotchi On - WonderGarden ', 'VTech, Kidizoom Duo 5.0 Camera'.
Prevalent product tags:
The most common product tags are inch, easegmer, games, kids.
You can find product suppliers here: https://www.made-in-china.com/special/toys/
3.Common Incoterms You Need to Know
3.1 Definition of Incoterms
Incoterms, which stands for International Commercial Terms, are critically important for international trade because they are legal commercial terms used to determine who (buyer or supplier) is responsible for what during the shipping process.
The Incoterms are a series of pre-defined commercial terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) relating to international commercial law. They are widely used in international commercial transactions or procurement processes.
A series of three-letter trade terms related to common contractual sales practices, the Incoterms rules are intended primarily to clearly communicate the tasks, costs, and risks associated with the global or international transportation and delivery of goods.
Incoterms inform sales contracts defining respective obligations, costs, and risks involved in the delivery of goods from the seller to the buyer, but they do not themselves conclude a contract, determine the price payable, currency or credit terms, govern contract law, or define where title to goods transfers. [2]
3.2 Frequently Used Incoterms
The latest version of Incoterms initiated by ICC includes 11 terms in total, the new version took effect on January 1, 2020. Among these terms, the most used are FOB, CFR, and CIF terms (RULES FOR SEA AND INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORT). The following will briefly introduce the definitions of these three terms and their risk transfers.
3.2.1 FOB - Free on Board (named port of shipment)
Under FOB terms the seller bears all costs and risks up to the point the goods are loaded onboard the vessel. The seller's responsibility does not end at that point unless the goods are "appropriated to the contract" that is, they are "clearly set aside or otherwise identified as the contract goods".
Therefore, the FOB contract requires a seller to deliver goods on board a vessel that is to be designated by the buyer in a manner customary at the particular port. In this case, the seller must also arrange for export clearance. On the other hand, the buyer pays the cost of marine freight transportation, bill of lading fees, insurance, unloading, and transportation cost from the arrival port to destination.
3.2.2 CFR – Cost and Freight (named port of destination)
The seller pays for the carriage of the goods up to the named port of destination. Risk transfers to buyer when the goods have been loaded onboard the ship in the country of Export. The shipper is responsible for origin costs including export clearance and freight costs for carriage to the named port. The shipper is not responsible for delivery to the final destination from the port (generally the buyer's facilities), or for buying insurance.
3.2.3 CIF – Cost, Insurance & Freight (named port of destination)
The sellers in a CIF contract were entitled to payment of the price upon tender of the bill of lading and insurance policy. The purchasers' intent to wait for satisfactory delivery and inspection was overruled. CIF is broadly similar to the above CFR term, with the exception that the seller is required to obtain insurance for the goods while in transit. The policy should be in the same currency as the contract.
The seller must also turn over documents necessary, to obtain the goods from the carrier or to assert a claim against an insurer to the buyer. The documents include (as a minimum) the invoice, the insurance policy, and the bill of lading. These three documents represent the cost, insurance, and freight of CIF.
3.3 The Transfer of Risk
(Incoterms® 2020) [3]
For more information about international commercial terms, please refer to the full version of Incoterms® 2020 published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
4.How to Boost Business with Dropshipping
Many retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers will choose dropshipping for business because it is not only easy to run but also with higher profits.
4.1 Benefits of Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a retail fulfillment method where a store doesn't keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, when a store sells a product using the dropshipping model, it purchases the item from a third party and has it shipped directly to the customer. [4]
With dropshipping, you will get lower start-up costs, a wide selection of products, and there is no need to ship by yourself.
4.2 Dropshipping on Made-in-China.com
Recently, Made-in-China.com did research on the retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers about the opinions on dropshipping. Based on the responses, nearly 70% of the people had their own online stores, also the third-party online stores (eg. Amazon). The industries include Consumer Electronics, Light Industry, Apparel, Machinery, Office & School Supplies, etc.
Marketing Poster is a new feature on Made-in-China.com which can fulfill their dropshipping needs much easier. It is a brand new tool with zero cost for users to attract more customers and business opportunities by easily creating and sharing a poster of your favorite products on social media to receive feedback on levels of customer interest.
Explore more>>>https://sourcing.made-in-china.com/marketing-poster.html
References
[1] 2021 State of the Amazon Seller Report, Jungle Scout
[2] Incoterms, Wikipedia
[3] Incoterms® 2020, ICC Organization
[4] What Is Dropshipping | How Does Drop Shipping Work, Shopify