Cold start to the year! Cross-border sellers: Orders decreased by 50%

With the sudden increase in new cross-border e-commerce sellers, competition between groups has become more intense . After the beginning of the year, many cross-border sellers have seen a cold reception of orders, with a sharp decline in February. Cross-border e-commerce has developed to a point where it is past the era of selling hot-selling products and being able to get orders. If sellers want to continue to grow, they must start by grasping consumer demand.

Multiple cross-border sellers reported a drop in orders

In 2021, the cross-border e-commerce industry ushered in an explosion, and many people from other industries flocked to this hot track. Many mainstream cross-border e-commerce platforms ushered in an unprecedented registration boom. With a large number of new sellers entering the market, many old sellers lamented: "The competitive pressure is getting greater and greater!"

At the beginning of this year, many cross-border sellers reported a sharp decline in orders. Seller K expressed doubts: "Recent orders are all cold. Do European and American consumers have no money?" Seller M said: "After communicating with my peers, I found that everyone's orders are very bleak."

The decline in orders is not an isolated case. According to feedback from multiple sellers, order performance throughout February was unsatisfactory and dropped significantly compared to the same period last year. Some sellers' orders have fallen to an all-time low, while others have seen a year-on-year decrease of around 50%.

Some cross-border sellers had a cold start to the year, which made more cross-border people start to think about the direction of development this year. As markets such as Europe and the United States gradually became saturated, price wars between sellers were instantly triggered. Since last year, the profits of many cross-border sellers have declined, and some have even suffered losses.

Cross-border sellers fighting in the red ocean have begun to try to find growth opportunities in emerging markets and reduce their reliance on a single channel. The blue ocean market of Southeast Asia has gradually attracted everyone's attention.

It is understood that in 2021, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam added 40 million Internet users, and the total number of Internet users reached 440 million. It has gradually become a local market habit for buyers to browse websites and conduct online transactions.

New changes in consumer demand have led to a surge in searches for these products

As a cross-border seller, only by understanding the products that online trading groups like to search for can you grasp consumer demand, focus on product selection, and thus achieve sales growth. Especially after the epidemic, there have been some new changes in the needs of online consumer groups, which deserves more attention from sellers. The 2021 Hot Search Report released by Google shows in detail the purchasing needs of consumers in Southeast Asian countries under the epidemic.

The report mentioned that due to the impact of the epidemic, almost half of consumers in the Asia-Pacific region currently said that if they can buy the products and services they need online, there is no need to go to physical stores to buy them. The rising search volume shows that consumers are using digitalization as a more effective shopping tool.

Under the epidemic, on the one hand, people pay more attention to pursuing the essence of life, and on the other hand, people are trying to eliminate the sense of distance.

As people generally realize that the changes brought about by the epidemic to their lives are not temporary, the pursuit of the essence of life has become the choice of many people, which has prompted everyone to pursue a more comfortable and easy life. On this basis, consumer demand has undergone the following changes:

1. People realize that a hybrid lifestyle will be more sustainable . With this awareness , people are starting to improve their home environment. In Malaysia, the search popularity of "indoor fitness bike" increased by more than 25%, while in Singapore, the search volume of "ergonomic chairs for home use" increased by as much as 45%.

In Indonesia, people are looking for tips on how to save electricity in the long term at home, with searches for “solar energy” and “saving electricity” increasing by 25%. In Vietnam, searches for household tips such as “how to make coffee at home” and “how to repair home appliances” increased by 20%.

In countries like India and Singapore, searches for “pet-friendly” increased by more than 35%, as people want their furry family members to join them on staycations.

2. More consumers are paying more attention to spending time with their families. In the Philippines, searches for terms containing the word “with family”, such as “spend quality time with family”, “get along with family” and “spend time with family”, increased by 110%. In Indonesia, searches for “waktu berkualitas” (good times) also increased.

3. People are re-examining their lifestyles. Today, the concept of overall health is greatly influencing consumers ' decision-making process. In many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the increase in search popularity related to sports reached 130%, including search queries about "olahraga di rumah" (home exercise) in Indonesia and search queries about "cycling" in Singapore.

In Vietnam, searches for fitness increased, and on YouTube, searches for beginner yoga exercises increased.

The increase was as high as 140%.

In addition, people are trying to eliminate the sense of distance caused by not being able to meet during the epidemic and explore more lasting online and offline relationships. As interpersonal relationships become more and more dependent on digitalization , people's needs are changing as follows:

1. Gift giving has become particularly popular. Many people in the Asia-Pacific region are looking for inspiration through Google Search to send birthday or anniversary wishes to friends and family. The search popularity of related content in the entire Asia-Pacific region has increased by as much as 40%.

Indonesians began searching for “gift boxes” and “snack boxes”, while Singaporeans saw a 40% increase in searches for “farewell gifts”.

The number of photos taken in the country increased by more than 350%.

2. Digitalization of interpersonal relationships. In the Philippines, search terms containing "games" and "friends" (such as "online games to play with friends") have increased in popularity by more than 25%.

Google's annual trending search report helps sellers increase sales

Identifying new consumer demands will help cross-border sellers select products and conduct marketing in a targeted manner. In addition to the relevant search changes, Google's 2021 Hot Search Report also provides a variety of marketing solutions from the perspective of sellers and brands.

In the relevant analysis, the report believes that when consumers are in the research stage, they do not have specific favorite products. At this stage, sellers can use adaptive search ads and personalized ads related to consumers to focus on promoting products and increase exposure.

The above data and content all come from Google's 2021 Annual Hot Search Report. The report also details five major trends: 1. Digitalization is gradually becoming mainstream; 2. People are re-examining the essence of life; 3. Efforts are made to eliminate the sense of distance; 4. People want to find out the truth more ; 5. The phenomenon of differentiation is becoming increasingly obvious.

The five major trends include professional data on consumers’ new search trends and in-depth information on sellers’ marketing, which will help sellers conduct precision marketing based on their understanding of users, further increase sales, and get out of the shadow of declining orders and performance.

Click on the entrance to get the full content of Google’s 2021 annual hot search report and achieve a surge in sales in 2022.

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