Meiya's hot search word NO.1! Peak season products are booming

The 2023 peak season is here!

Entering September heralds the start of the peak sales season for cross-border e-commerce in the second half of the year. As the first important holiday in the peak season, “Halloween”-related terms have recently dominated the hot searches on major platforms, and related sellers have also seen a surge in orders. Not only Halloween products, but sellers have also reported that sales of Thanksgiving products have also increased.

A previous survey showed that more than 80% of sellers failed to achieve their first half-year targets. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas and other promotional festivals are concentrated in the second half of the year, so many people are looking forward to it, hoping to boost the performance of the whole year. As the beginning of the peak season in the second half of the year, the performance of Halloween to a certain extent indicates the quality of this peak season. So how is the sales of Halloween this year?

Halloween sales: some people are experiencing huge sales, while others have already sold out their stock at 50% off

Compared with previous years, offline Halloween promotions came very early this year. In July, some Americans found that Halloween candies were already on sale at a supermarket in the suburbs of New York. By the end of August, some sellers said that many supermarkets in the United States had reserved the best locations (at the entrance) for Halloween products.

According to NRF survey data, total Halloween spending in the United States is expected to reach $11.3 billion in 2023, exceeding last year's $10.6 billion, and the average person will spend about $100 on Halloween-related products.

In fact, this year's Halloween sales have shown a clear sign of acceleration. Data shows that the seaborne import volume of Halloween-themed products in the United States reaches its peak in July every year, but this year's peak has already arrived in June. In addition, it has been observed that online sellers have also started selling Halloween products in late August, and some sellers have prepared products worth tens of millions of yuan, waiting for the opportunity to explode in orders.

Google Trends data clearly shows the rising path of Halloween popularity. Starting in early July, the search popularity of Halloween decorations suddenly rose, and has been rising ever since. Last week (as of September 19), Halloween decorations had already rushed to the top of the ranking of search terms on Amazon.com. In late August, it was still outside the top 100, which shows its popularity.

Currently, Halloween products have entered their sales peak, and many sellers have reported that their products have begun to explode in orders. However, human joys and sorrows are not the same. While they are excited about the soaring number of orders, some sellers are clearing out their stocks at a reduced price. Some sellers have reported that some people are now clearing out their stocks at a 50% discount.

What’s even worse is that some sellers’ goods have not been delivered yet for various reasons. Generally speaking, most sellers’ Halloween products are already on sale in late August. Those that are still floating on the sea may have to be sold next year.

Last year, due to inflation, the global economic recession and the emergence of the "price butcher" Temu, the prices of Halloween products were very "volatile". A large number of sellers lamented that their profits were almost zero and cleared out a large number of stocks at a discounted price in late October.

This year's price war continues, but Temu seems to be trying to escape from this battlefield. It is observed that the prices of many Halloween products on Temu are almost the same as those on Amazon. For example, the death victim props are priced at US$8.99 to US$11.98 on Temu, while Amazon's prices are US$9.95 to US$14.99. Some sellers even found that the price of a Halloween mask they sold on Temu was US$3 higher than that on Amazon.

Learn to take advantage of hot spots, these products can also become popular

Pumpkins, skulls, candle lights, Halloween costumes, etc. are traditional Halloween hot-selling products, but the competition for hot-selling products is often fierce. Therefore, some sellers have found another way and "take advantage" of the popularity of Halloween to make other products. So far, the results have been significant.

Jungle scout data shows that there are several products on Amazon that have performed well recently:

Fall dishcloths: Still soft and absorbent microfiber, but with fall and Halloween designs. In the past 30 days, this product has seen a 6,756% increase in revenue, driving a 353% increase in searches for “fall home decor.”

Seasonal Outdoor Signage :   The product, which is double-sided and made of durable, weather-resistant fabric, features watercolor designs of pumpkins, leaves and birds. In the past 30 days, the product has seen revenue increase by 4,307%, driving a 195% increase in searches for “fall decor.”

Pumpkin Spice Candle Wax : Candles made with natural essential oils, infused with pumpkin flavored spices, and intensified when used in a candle warmer or electric burner. In the past 30 days, this product revenue has increased by 519%, driving a 310% increase in searches for "fall candles."

Pumpkin Spice Coffee : This product is made with coffee beans, pumpkin spice, chai tea, cardamom, cinnamon and ginger.   In the past 30 days, the product revenue increased by 3570%, driving the search volume of "pumpkin spice coffee" up by 138%.

As for Halloween products, many sellers are selling at low prices, which makes it difficult for everyone to make money. Why not change your mindset? An Amazon seller said that Halloween has long lost its original meaning and has now become a tool for wealthy foreign neighbors to compete with each other. Maybe sellers can try high-value Halloween products next year. Most of the Halloween decorations on Amazon are now priced in the double digits, with few in the triple digits and even fewer in the quadruple digits. Sellers may wish to look for business opportunities in these price ranges.

Sellers are worried: Can this peak season support the full year's performance?

A previous survey showed that more than 80% of sellers failed to achieve their first half-year targets. Recently, some sellers said that they were too optimistic and thought that the low order volume was temporary, but now it is September and the performance has not reached 80% of last year, and they have lost confidence in this year's peak season.

Are sellers’ hopes of boosting their full-year sales during the peak season going to fail? The following news shows that the answer is no.

Recently, the Port of Los Angeles, a major port in the western United States, released data for August this year, with container throughput of 828,000 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 2.8%, the first monthly year-on-year increase in the port in 13 months. Among them, import heavy containers increased by 7.3% to 433,200 TEUs, and export heavy containers increased by 22.2% to 125,000 TEUs.

Meanwhile, Ware2Go, the United Parcel Service, also found that the majority of merchants (73%) expect holiday sales to be higher than in previous years. The sentiment is positive.

Another positive phenomenon is that U.S. inflation expectations in September have fallen to the lowest level in more than two years, with consumers expecting inflation to be 3.1% over the next year, lower than the 3.5% expected in August, which is the lowest since the beginning of 2021. With a lower inflation rate, people's spending power can also be restored to a certain extent.

On the platform side, Amazon, which had previously laid off a large number of employees , also said on September 19 that it plans to recruit 250,000 logistics employees during this year's holiday shopping season and increase the average hourly wage of related personnel to US$20.50. The e-commerce giant is ready for this year's "shopping feast."

Overall, the outlook for this peak season is optimistic. What sellers need to do now is to ensure the security of their accounts/stores, avoid any illegal operations, and do a good job of shipping, waiting for the explosion of orders.