Summer Economy Overseas buyers are fascinated by China's "facekinis", and sellers in the industrial belt are busy with orders at SHEIN

Since the summer , the market demand for sunscreen products has been experiencing a new round of surge.

Just browse social networks and you will be shocked by the efforts people make in sun protection. Today's sun protection measures go far beyond applying sunscreen, and have evolved from "arming to the toes" to "arming every hair". According to data insights from Google Trends, the search popularity of "sun protection" continues to rise, and the most popular products are sun protection equipment such as hats or sleeves, mainly covering the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and other regions.

Another market survey shows that the global sunscreen market is worth 65.519 billion yuan, and it is predicted that the global sunscreen market will reach 100 billion yuan by 2029, with a long-term bullish outlook. As a result, China's exports of the "four major industries" in summer - fashion, accessories, digital, sports and outdoor - continue to be popular around the world, and Made in China has ignited the global summer economy.

It is also easy to see from the best- selling list on the SHEIN platform that the demand for sunscreen-related consumption is surging:

Sales of sun protection sleeves increased by 125% year-on-year, and sales of novelty sleeves with patterns, tattoos, etc. increased by 210% year-on-year;

The sales of sunscreen masks have skyrocketed, and the most popular product, a full-cover sunscreen "facekini", has recently sold more than 12,270 units...

From "hardcore sunscreen" to "fashionable sunscreen", as the global market's demand for sunscreen enters a new round of growth, these summer must-haves have also constituted a booming overseas industry: on the one hand, foreign consumers' personalized competition in sunscreen equipment is extremely lively; on the other hand, the army of cross-border sellers on the SHEIN platform has begun to stake out territory in multiple product tracks.

Facekinis are all the rage, with some sellers making millions a month

If some of the early hard-core sun protection measures were mainly for sun protection, then today's sun protection accessories have extended their "effects" to the field of fashion. Overseas consumers' personalized sun protection needs have grown accordingly: they have different clothing requirements for different occasions (commuting, vacation, etc.), and are also looking for more creative and interesting sun protection clothing. Overall, the sun protection market is still one of the high-potential markets that shows strong growth expectations.

The evolution of sun protection equipment in the global market is inseparable from the continuous product innovation and manufacturing needs of Chinese manufacturers and brands. Domestic companies with a keen sense of smell either use special sun protection fabrics or incorporate innovative designs to provide overseas consumers with a wealth of choices, including the hard-core sun protection king - "facekini".

During this period, many domestic sellers of sunscreen products have received more orders than in previous years. Sun Fei, a SHEIN seller who specializes in sunscreen masks and face shields, said that his factory has been working in shifts to rush to make "facekinis".

"The 'facekinis' we produce are mainly made of ice silk," the seller said, "which can make consumers feel a cool surface temperature and is also more breathable."

The "facekinis" that are being sold hotly by sellers on the SHEIN platform and the overseas buyers' show

The "facekini" mentioned by the seller is a product similar to a full-cover headgear with strong elasticity and protection. This product has another name overseas: balaclava. In recent years, balaclava has been particularly popular in the fashion circle. It originally originated in the Balaclava region. Later, the British brought this hat back to China and it became popular. Celebrities Kim Kardashian and Kanye West once appeared in a full-cover balaclava style, which attracted the attention of fashion lovers around the world and became increasingly popular.

With the sales stall of sun hats and sun masks that started in Yiwu Trade City , Sun Fei used to mainly accept domestic and foreign trade orders . However, under the influence of the climate in the northern hemisphere today, Sun Fei's overseas retail orders are also "hot" and can't be handled. Sun Fei's factory produced more than 4 million sunscreen products last year, and it is expected to reach more than 6 million this year . Since taking the first step in overseas business on the cross-border e-commerce SHEIN , Sun Fei's factory has grown from small to large, the number of employees and orders has increased from small to large , sales have increased steadily , and the overseas bills are clear. Sun Fei has a clearer grasp of the demand for sunscreen products in the overseas market and is more and more confident in selling on cross-border platforms .

Recently , Sun Fei has sold more than 5,700 " facekinis" in one day , with the average daily sales of a pink facekini reaching more than 2,000 . Compared with the same period last year, sales have increased by 70 % . Although sales have increased too fast, Sun Fei can clearly understand the market sales situation through the sales feedback provided by the SHEIN platform and organize production in an orderly manner.

"Consumers in North America prefer masks with exaggerated patterns, while people in Europe prefer products with a sense of design, such as embroidery or lace designs. Not only women need sun protection, but men also need scientific sun protection, and the market has great demand. In order to make our products as sellable as possible, I have to ensure that the products are produced precisely on demand." Sun Fei told the media. Small orders and quick response is a good flexible supply and production method. After learning from the successful experience of "small orders and quick response" that SHEIN's own brand is good at, Sun Fei's factory has a more flexible production capacity arrangement, starting with small orders, testing models in SHEIN stores, and returning orders in large quantities when sales are good. Sun Fei's store's monthly sales reached more than 1.1 million US dollars at its peak.

With the help of the fashionable customer base of S HEIN platform , cross-border sellers strive to build the " grass-planting power " of their stores

The market for sunglasses, another sun protection product in summer , has also been in a period of rapid growth. It is relatively easy for sellers of this type of product to achieve initial sales growth, but it is not so easy to maintain a leading position. High quality-price ratio , the ability to iterate designs , stable and reliable quality, the grasp of popular colors and elements in the market , the visual presentation of products, etc .... all these aspects of competition are a science.

When Zhang Min started to study cross-border e-commerce two years ago, he found that some factories had particularly large sales. After asking around, he found out that they had particularly good sales on the overseas platform SHEIN. There were even many overseas consumers and influencers who would unbox and introduce the various sunglasses and frames they bought from SHEIN on social networking sites, actively recommending these products. So he flew to the SHEIN office with two suitcases of samples to visit and learn about them face to face. After returning, he decided to immediately settle in SHEIN .

"Easy to get started" is Zhang Min's first impression of doing business on the cross-border SHEIN platform. As a senior eyewear manufacturer, Zhang Min knows that his advantage lies in the production experience accumulated over more than ten years, so he chooses a platform and track that can better play to his advantages. "The cooperation with SHEIN is very clear. I mainly focus on product development and product quality. The platform will help us share the pressure as much as possible in other aspects. The benefits of division of labor are very clear." Zhang Min said.

"Fast growth" is Zhang Min's second impression of the SHEIN platform. Thinking back to the year before last when he first joined SHEIN, Zhang Min did not catch up with the peak season for sunglasses sales, but sales were still more optimistic than he imagined: "Sales on SHEIN are growing very fast. Even if you miss the peak season, as long as you keep working hard, you will get good results." Soon Zhang Min's confidence was boosted by sales. As more of his products and new products were put on the shelves and sold well in overseas stores, his monthly sales could reach 1 million US dollars even in the off-season, and in the peak season for sunglasses sales, his store's monthly sales exceeded 3 million US dollars.

           In Zhang Min's opinion, there are differences in the curvature of the lenses of sunglasses products at home and abroad. Domestic ones are generally 2-4 curves, but foreigners' noses are usually higher, so the curvature of the lenses of sunglasses products needs to be 6 curves. In addition, overseas customers have higher requirements for the iteration of popular elements. The popular elements of the past two years are very different from the current preferences of customers.

"Nowadays, overseas users like cooler products. The popular colored film (green, pink, mercury-colored lenses) sunglasses are no longer popular this year. Ocean colors and gradual colors (dark on the top, light on the bottom) are popular this year. The matching effect is particularly good, and this type of product has better sales on SHEIN." Zhang Min revealed to the media. He also believes that although basic models are more likely to become popular, sellers must also develop micro-innovation products to bring consumers more choices and surprises. Some consumers need some new and unique products to match, and sellers themselves also need to have production capabilities to fill some demand gaps, so that they can compete with other sellers in a differentiated manner and help extend the sales life cycle of products.

In order to highlight the product features and attract more young customers, Zhang Min, who was born in the 1990s, recruited some younger college graduates born in the 2000s to operate the store, and decorated the online store in accordance with the thinking and aesthetics of young people, so as to better show the product's appearance, functional advantages and versatile scenarios to consumers in the target market, thereby stimulating consumer interest and hoping to achieve the effect of stimulating purchasing desire. After the consumption stickiness of overseas customers has become significantly stronger, they will return to Zhang Min's store repeatedly to make selections. According to Zhang Min's statistics, many consumers have even placed orders for more than 20 sunglasses products.

From the perspective of the market environment, looking for growth in the global market has become a common strategy for domestic manufacturers and sellers. In the past year, the rapid development of cross-border platforms represented by SHEIN has also helped the "cross-border gold rush" of sellers in the industrial belt. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports will reach 2.38 trillion yuan in 2023, an increase of 15.6%. Preliminary estimates show that imports and exports in the first half of this year will reach 1.22 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.5%, setting a new record. The continued healthy and rapid development of new foreign trade formats and models such as cross-border e-commerce is a general trend, building a high-quality connected bridge between global consumers and domestic industrial belts, sellers and brands.

SHEIN

Industrial belt

Facekini