Amazon traffic has been declining for months, sellers: 0 orders

Compared with the past few years, the difference in order volume seems to have become the norm in cross-border trade. In the absence of orders, sellers dare not stock up recklessly, and naturally, factories, as suppliers, are not having a good time either.

Since 2020, many factories have been hit hard by the epidemic and the economy and have been shut down one after another. In previous years, July and August were the peak season for cross-border sellers to prepare goods, and they were also the busiest days for factories. However, recently, sellers have felt that the order volume has become even colder, and many factories have closed down .

Amazon's overall search traffic has been declining for months , sellers: 0 orders

Recently, Momentum   The category search traffic data for Amazon's US site released by Commerce showed that in July this year , Amazon's US site search traffic fell by 2.4% year-on-year, continuing the year-on-year downward trend .

In June , this indicator fell 3% year-on-year , and overall search traffic continued to decline.

Among the major categories, the largest declines were seen in the categories of clothing, shoes and jewelry . In July, searches for these categories fell 18% year-on-year , and for the first time, the number of searches fell below that of home and kitchen.

Compared with the same period last year, searches for electronics ( -3.9%) and home kitchen (-4.6%) also declined, even lower than the overall search volume on Amazon US.

The performance of sports and outdoor products on Amazon has also been declining . In June, when demand for sports and outdoor products should have been high in Europe and the United States, it was the category with the largest drop in search volume on Amazon's US site that month, contrary to its usual practice.

Among the Chinese sellers on Amazon US, there are many who mainly sell clothing and bags, home appliances, and sports and outdoor products. The decline in search volume over the past few months means that consumer demand for products has weakened, traffic has decreased, and correspondingly, the number of orders has also decreased.

“ ——Yesterday’s order volume was very poor, today’s order volume was very poor, and tomorrow’s order volume … I don’t hold out hope.

——The peak season for outdoor sports has passed, but I still have some stock left from last year.

——It feels like nothing is selling.

——Is this to give me a sharp contrast with the peak season, so it’s so bad?

——There is no worst, only worse.

..."

By comparing the semi-annual financial reports of major sellers this year, we can see that the cross-border circle is still not easy this year, and the fact that many major export sellers have suspended their listings can also prove this point.

On June 30, Yiwu -based home furnishing painting giant Huahonghua Home Furnishing Co., Ltd., with annual sales of 1 billion yuan, suspended its IPO.

On June 27, Senix , a big brand in the garden tool category of Amazon and Walmart , and its parent company Zhejiang Yat Electric Co., Ltd. terminated its IPO.

On February 21, Xiamen lighting fixture export giant Dongang Technology Co., Ltd. also withdrew its IPO application.

What's more, Baoxin Global, a veteran cross-border retailer that has already been listed, announced its delisting.

Sellers, as the sales end, are facing an urgent need for orders, and the supply role behind them - factories, is also in a critical situation. Recently, several factories have announced their closure.

"Order shortage" leads to "bankruptcy wave", Dongguan's major factories closed down in 21 years

I believe everyone still remembers that last month, Xin'an Electric, a 38-year-old established manufacturer, announced its dissolution.

In the "Letter to All Colleagues" released by Xin'an Electric , it stated: In the context of a sluggish global economy and reduced orders, the company has experienced the impact of the global epidemic, and its operating conditions have further deteriorated. Early dissolution is a helpless move .

Founded in 1985, Xinan Electric focuses on overseas markets and has been OEM for many big brands such as Philips. It has also been rated as one of the "Top 100 Processing Trade Exporters". Its parent company Simatelex, a Hong Kong-funded small appliance manufacturing giant, is an OEM for internationally renowned brands such as Panasonic, Philips, and Siemens.

Unfortunately, no matter how strong your background is, it is difficult to withstand the devastating impact of a sluggish market.

Recently, another group of factories announced their withdrawal.

On August 28, Dongguan Ji * Hardware Products Co., Ltd. ( hereinafter referred to as " Dongguan Ji * Hardware " ) , which has a history of 21 years, issued a notice of closure: stating that due to the impact of the market environment, orders have dropped sharply, making it difficult for the company to maintain. After careful consideration, the company decided to suspend production and close down on September 28, 2023 .

“——How can a hardware accessories company that is so profitable go bankrupt?

——I can’t believe it. Our company purchased their products two years ago.

——The profit is high and the demand is high. I think hardware is the most stable. "

The news of the closure of Dongguan Ji * Hardware has sparked discussion among a group of cross-border sellers.

Some sellers also said that many factories they had cooperated with before have closed down one after another since 2020. "No matter whether they are big or small factories, if we have no orders, they have no orders. Workers' wages and equipment maintenance cost a lot of money, and they can't hold on for long."

The " order shortage " has spread to all industries, and factories are now closing down.

On August 11, Dongguan Xing* Clothing Co., Ltd. also notified that due to the impact of the economic environment, the company's overall orders continued to decrease this year, and the operating losses were serious and it was difficult to continue. After careful consideration by the company's senior management, it was decided to completely shut down and stop production on September 11, 2023 .

On August 1, Dongguan Pu** Furniture Co., Ltd. issued an announcement stating that due to the poor international economic conditions, the company has continued to operate at a loss and can no longer continue to operate. It will cease operations on August 1, 2023.

Some factories have not announced their closure but have fallen into " endless holidays ".

On August 21, Dongguan Hua * Industrial Co., Ltd. once again issued a holiday notice, stating that the entire factory was originally scheduled to be on holiday until the end of August 2023, and hoped to resume normal operations in September. However, as customers have not yet placed orders, the factory has no choice but to continue the holiday. The holiday is tentatively scheduled to start from September 1 to the end of February 2024 .

These are just some of the Dongguan factories listed by Een.com that have closed down or closed indefinitely to stop losses.

If we count them carefully, these factories basically have a long history. In the past few years, China's foreign trade exports, including cross-border e-commerce, have grown wildly. These factories have been thriving by taking advantage of the dividends of the times. However, things are unpredictable. A protracted epidemic war has triggered a series of butterfly effects, and the global economy has since become pessimistic.

And this situation does not seem to be ending in the short term.

In July this year , Li Xingqian, director of the Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce, pointed out that due to factors such as shrinking external demand, China's foreign trade imports and exports were under pressure in the first half of the year, and the growth rate of China's imports and exports declined in May and June. He believed that this was a direct reflection of the sluggish recovery of the world economy in the trade field.

Previously, Li Xingqian also stated that the main contradiction in China's foreign trade sector has changed from last year's supply chain obstruction and insufficient fulfillment capacity to the current weakening external demand and declining orders .

From sellers to factories, the difficulties of the cross-border market are obvious to all.

Since the beginning of the year, Yien.com has always heard complaints from sellers, saying that "the cross-border environment is more stringent than before, and it is increasingly difficult to place orders." Sellers have gone from "picking up gold everywhere" to a difficult and outstanding "battle" to survive in the European and American consumer markets that are deeply mired in inflation.

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