Deploy potential platforms, Shenzhen's top sellers have more than 10,000 orders per month

After two years in business, the average monthly sales of the big sellers reached 250,000 US dollars

In 2019, this Shenzhen seller learned that the Polish local platform Allegro had good traffic and high popularity, so it decided to give it a try.

Even with e-commerce experience, it takes some getting used to when selling on a new platform . Seho, the Allegro business manager, said: "The browser we used at the time did not support backend page translation, so we could only read line by line. In addition, the platform also had some requirements for posting. However, now the platform has optimized many functions for international sellers, and you can directly switch to English in the backend."

After this period of adjustment, the business started quickly. The company 's operation is more of a distribution model, mainly engaged in home gardening, sports and outdoor categories, and its product positioning is more mid-range, with considerable price advantages. Last year, the company's average monthly sales in this channel was US$250,000, and the current monthly sales have reached more than 10,000 orders.

Seho said that Allegro has good traffic and it is easy to get orders after the products are posted. If the store is operated properly, there will be no situation where the traffic is low after the products are posted and new products are easy to be silent. Sellers can find the right product category and fill in the product pictures, attributes and other information. If they subsequently advertise and participate in platform promotion activities (such as ranking up, etc.), they can create a hot product.

"I feel that every category on this platform will have a market, because its traffic is really huge, and Polish people may not go to other places when they shop online." According to the latest data, Allegro's monthly active customers have grown to 22 million, covering more than 90% of Polish Internet users, and the platform's homepage has 200 million visits per month. In the first quarter of this year, the purchase amount of each active buyer has grown to 3,265 zlotys (about 730 US dollars).

In the first half of this year, many cross-border sellers reported a decline in sales. The seller's performance on other platforms was basically the same as in previous years, but sales on Allegro were higher than expected.

Affected by the situation between Russia and Ukraine, daily necessities and emergency supplies were once hot-selling in Poland. "Tourniquets, emergency radios, solar flashlights, and walkie-talkies, which are rarely sold at ordinary times, were sold out during that period. We also put a large number of these products on the shelves, and orders were placed as soon as they were put on the shelves. At that time, everyone was in a state of rushing to buy goods, and many things were sold out by suppliers later." Seho said that during this period, the sales volume of its war preparedness materials was conservatively estimated to be two or three times more than normal.

Three advantages besides large traffic

In the European market, sellers on platforms such as Amazon are relatively saturated, and European local platforms are also a development channel that can be considered. Seho analyzed that the Allegro platform has obvious advantages in several aspects such as page display, promotion activities and logistics requirements.

Different from other platforms, the entire browsing page is very clean and refreshing. The product images are all white, so the product display is very clear, and there are rarely exaggerated words or scenes in the first picture. The page is simple and has a sense of luxury. At the bottom of the pages of hot-selling categories such as home gardening, the main product pictures with slight modifications are neatly arranged, which provides a good visual experience.

( Screenshot of Allegro Garden category page)

Big promotions are very helpful for sellers to increase sales and rankings and create hot products. There are many big promotions on Allegro. The current summer promotion will last from June 20 to July 27. In addition, the platform also has good traffic during the weekly limited-time discounts launched in its discount area, and sellers have better order performance. Seho said that there are many activities on the platform. If some styles can maintain profits while selling more at a discount, his team will also participate in the promotion.

After placing an order, the company delivers the order by itself. "This platform does not force sellers to ship within a few hours or days. You can set it according to your own situation. As long as you can meet the time limit you fill in, if you can ship quickly, you can write 'ship immediately'. If you encounter an emergency, you can also make adjustments in time. I think this is quite friendly." For example, the previous Russia-Ukraine incident and the Guangzhou epidemic disrupted the company's original delivery rhythm, and the situation was alleviated by delaying the delivery time.

Generally, the seller can complete the delivery within 10-12 days, but he will set the delivery time to 12 days to leave some leeway. The reason is that local consumers attach great importance to the terms of the contract. If the seller cannot accurately complete the fast delivery marked on the page, the customer will feel cheated; if the delivery time meets the customer's requirements, the other party will be happy to give a good review.

In addition, beautiful pictures are more likely to attract consumers, but what you see is what you get. If there is a big difference between the actual product and the picture, it will easily lead to bad reviews. This requires sellers to be rigorous enough in describing the pictures and titles.

Given the importance buyers place on timeliness, the company is considering using the platform's newly launched official warehouse One Fulfillment service in the second half of the year. After the account application is approved, some hot-selling products will be selected for stocking, and the platform's official warehouse will be fully responsible for order fulfillment. Most orders can be delivered on the same day or the next day.

In terms of logistics, the Allegro platform provides sellers with a lot of support. In addition to the official warehouse service, the platform's Smart! Free Shipping plan also provides multiple conveniences for sellers using overseas warehouses in Europe. Sellers shipping from Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and France have the opportunity to directly provide free delivery services to consumers, thereby increasing sales.

Allegro is suitable for Chinese sellers to settle in

At the beginning of this year, Allegro accelerated its international expansion. After acquiring Mall Group, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Central and Eastern Europe, it launched Allegro.com, an English site for consumers across the European Union, to connect platform sellers with 440 million buyers. This Shenzhen seller chose to follow this strategy and synchronize more products suitable for the European market to this platform. At present, it has applied for registration of relevant tax numbers.

According to Allegro's recently released Q1 financial report, in the first quarter of 2022, thanks to the continuous expansion of product range, preferential pricing support and Allegro Pay's "buy now, pay later" plan, Allegro's total merchandise transaction volume reached 10.82 billion zlotys (about US$2.44 billion), a year-on-year increase of 12.8%; the platform's net promoter score rose to 81, which is at a market-leading level, which also means that the market still believes that it has promising prospects in the current international situation.

In Seho's opinion, this platform is very suitable for Chinese sellers to settle in. There are more general sellers and relatively fewer boutique sellers, but the platform model is more suitable for the latter. "If your store is full of products of the same category with your own supply, similar to a franchise store, then the store traffic will be very good. When we searched the market, we found that the stores with relatively high sales are basically like this, so boutique sellers should do better, and those with their own brands are worth a try." Later, his company will also try vertical category stores.

In fact, Allegro provides a lot of support for high-quality sellers. For example, the platform has a special "Brand Zone" page, and there is a "0.5% Sales Commission Plan" for scarce categories on the platform. In addition, high-potential sellers can also receive one-on-one support from account managers.

At present, there are not many Chinese sellers on Allegro, but the platform is actively recruiting Chinese sellers. Unlike most other platforms, Allegro does not charge monthly rent or listing fees for most categories. Sellers only need to pay a sales commission of 0%-16% after successfully selling the goods. To help sellers grow quickly, the platform provides a series of welcome benefits, including:

Sales commission reduction of up to PLN 10,000 (about RMB 16,000) per month;

Free use of promotional tools to improve product rankings;

·Free monthly subscription for professional version;

Free access to analytical tools to optimize sales efficiency;

List products for free in categories that originally charge listing fees.

Considering the financial pressure of sellers, Allegro has shortened the payment cycle of international sellers to 7 days. The payment can be received 7 days after the package is delivered. In addition, the platform is connected to many mainstream ERP systems and launched a batch listing function. Sellers can upload up to 10,000 offers at a time to simplify the listing process.

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