Cross-border E-commerce Product Selection Strategy and Methods

Introduction

Successful operation of independent websites requires merchants to understand the characteristics of the target market. Different markets have different price tolerances, so when selecting products for independent websites, it is necessary to consider the characteristics of the target market. This article will introduce product selection strategies and methods for cross-border e-commerce, and analyze the European and American and Southeast Asian markets as examples.

Understanding the characteristics of the target market

Consumers in different markets have different tolerance for prices. In mature markets such as Europe and America, consumers can afford higher prices, so merchants can choose high-priced goods. In addition, consumers in these regions also tend to purchase high-end products online, so merchants have a wider range of categories to choose from. For merchants targeting emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, choosing low-priced hot-selling products is a good option. Consumers in emerging markets spend less time shopping online and tend to buy daily consumer goods that are widely applicable. However, there may be greater potential for segmented products that are sold specifically in certain regions, such as folk crafts.

Choosing products of moderate size and high profit margins

Based on understanding the target market, businesses should choose products with appropriate sizes as much as possible. In the early stages of opening a store, businesses have limited funds and fierce competition. Choosing products with small sizes can save some logistics costs and increase profit margins. In addition, products with appropriate sizes can also reduce inventory and site costs pressure, and allocate limited funds to brand marketing and promotion, enhancing brand awareness.

Choose products with high demand to avoid sales fluctuations.

Products with high demand for daily needs have advantages in sales. Compared with some holiday items or products suitable for specific periods and places, products with high demand have stable sales cycles, reducing sales fluctuations, inventory pressure, and risks. Businesses can choose daily consumer goods, food, office supplies, and other products with high demand as their selection range to obtain stable sales.

Choose product categories with sustained high sales.

Below are several product categories with sustained high sales. They have great potential and market influence both on independent websites and third-party platforms.

Pet supplies

In recent years, the sales volume and consumer attention of pet supplies have grown rapidly. The importance of pets in the lives of contemporary young people continues to increase, becoming an important role in relieving stress and loneliness and providing emotional value. Businesses can choose to bundle and sell pet beds, toys, food, and pest control products to meet consumers' demand for pet supplies.

Travel and Outdoor Products

Short-distance travel has become consumers' preferred choice, especially when the international epidemic situation is still not effectively controlled. The market size of travel and outdoor products continues to grow, and businesses should focus on this area. For example, tents and sleeping bags required for camping picnics, backpacks and insulated water bottles used for hiking.

Grasp the Heat Using Data

Businesses can use the popularity of real-time big data and platform rankings as the basis for product selection. Compared with inefficient offline research, using different data tools for assisted product selection can improve the quantity and coverage of samples.

Google Trends

Google Trends is a free data analysis tool based on Google search. Merchants can enter product keywords and select regions to view the search trends of specific terms in a certain region or globally, to understand the hot sales period and popularity trends of the intended products.

The importance of product selection strategy

The product selection strategy determines the success or failure of a cross-border brand. In the start-up stage, you can rely on sales intuition or big data to adjust product selection. However, as the maturity period approaches, merchants need to pay more attention to consumer trends and industry adjustment changes, keep up with the pace of the target market, and influence more potential consumers.