Overseas peak shopping seasons offer a unique set of opportunities for the retailers and brands who embrace cross border selling . The importance of cross-border ecommerce during high demand periods can't be overstated and is a game changer for businesses aiming to maximize their sales and expand their global reach. Here we look at a few reasons why getting ready for major peak seasons makes sense for your business.
Expanding Market Reach
During peak seasons, such as Black Friday and the holiday shopping period, consumer demand skyrockets. But relying solely on domestic markets can significantly limit your potential. By embracing cross border commerce, businesses can reach a global audience and tap into the purchasing power of hundreds of millions of consumers in different countries. This expanded market reach not only boosts sales but also diversifies revenue streams, reducing reliance on a single market and mitigating the risks associated with fluctuations in any one region, such as the current cost of living crisis here in the UK and some other western countries.
Leveraging Global Shopping Trends
Because peak seasons vary across regions, by engaging in cross border businesses can capitalise on different shopping timings worldwide. For instance, while Black Friday is a big shopping event in the UK and the United States, Singles' Day on November 11th is a massive retail event in China and South East Asia, and while the summer season shopping is May/June to July/August in Europe and the US in the southern hemisphere it is when it's mid winter here. By aligning your campaigns and ensuring inventory is available to cater to these different events and timings, retailers and brands can optimize sales throughout the year, rather than relying on a single domestic season.
Access to Massive Online Buyer Bases
Here at Immerced we often repeat this but it's worth saying again and again. The critical reason why cross border ecommerce is a game-changer is the sheer number of online buyers across the world. Markets like China, India, Southeast Asia, Central Europe and LatAm have seen explosive growth in online shopping, with hundreds of millions of consumers now preferring to shop digitally, and of course countries like the UK and USA have long been growing online. During peak seasons, this online buyer base swells even further, creating an enormous opportunity for selling.
Enhancing Brand Visibility and Competitiveness
Selling overseas provides an opportunity to enhance brand visibility globally. During peak seasons, when competition is fierce in most countries, having a presence in international markets can set your business apart. Consumers around the world are increasingly seeking unique products and services that may not be available in their local markets and by offering your products internationally, you can attract new customers, start building brand loyalty, and establish an edge over your domestic competitors. International exposure can also lead to valuable partnerships and collaborations, potentially further boosting your brand’s market share.
Seizing the Opportunity for Brand Discovery
Importantly for overseas sellers, during peak shopping seasons consumers are not just looking for deals, they’re on the hunt for unique, thoughtful gifts that stand out from the usual offerings. This is where cross border ecommerce can help you shine, even for domestically well known brands. The global marketplace provides an unparalleled platform for brands to be discovered by new audiences seeking something special. By positioning your brand and products in international markets, you increase the likelihood of being discovered by consumers eager to purchase something different and memorable. Ensuring your listings are on local marketplaces and / or advertised on local search engines is a great way to position yourself to be found.
Overcoming Challenges with Strategic Planning
While the benefits of cross border trade are substantial, it’s of course important to acknowledge the challenges. These can include navigating complex regulations, handling international logistics, managing currency fluctuations and dealing with foreign languages. However, with strategic planning and the right tools these challenges can be effectively managed and turned into opportunities. Partnering with Immerced will help you navigate the landscape including working with reliable logistics providers, leveraging technology for currency conversion, payments, localization, listing and international marketing, as well as setting up on marketplaces and handling international trade regulations and compliance. But we know that not everyone is going to be our partner! so here are the critical steps to consider when getting ready for a fast approaching peak season.
Quick Launch Strategies for Peak Season Success
With the Q4 peak seasons coming in much of the world, given we're now coming into September you may want to launch quickly in time to get a feel for international during peak season. In which case, focus on these initial areas to see some growth:
Product Selection: If you are aiming to try this yourself, as we're so close to the season if you don't have a tool that can translate and list your items for you and you're doing it manually, then focus on a curated selection of products that are likely to resonate with global customers during peak season. Go with your best sellers, if they sell well at home they often do well abroad too. It's great to have less well selling and long tail items listed if possible, but if you have to choose, focus on the ones that you think make sense.
Efficient Logistics and Fulfilment: Ensure you have both reliable and affordable logistics, international buyers are sensitive to the size of the shipping price, particularly compared to the item price, and conscious that their gifts need to arrive in time to be given as a gift or worn at that special event.
Payment and Currency Options: Ensure you offer payment methods that are accepted and used in most countries and importantly make sure that you have currency options for international markets. Allowing a buyer to purchase in their own currency gives you a 40% boost on conversion according to recent research.
Expand on Marketplaces. One of the quickest ways to get some traction overseas is to be in the places where buyers are searching. Online marketplaces are quickly becoming the starting place for buyer journeys in Europe and the US, they've long been the starting place in Asia, making them the easiest place to be found when entering new markets.
Compliance with Local Regulations: Some markets are more complicated than others. Unfortunately, this is also some of the larger markets like Germany and France. While they are more complicated they are also worth a bit of extra effort and there are ways to simplify it. If you are currently selling on Amazon or eBay it's not so difficult to expand into Europe and you can get guidance from the platforms of how to comply with local regulations
Customer Support: You will often be told that you can't sell in a market without setting up a multilingual customer support. While in key markets where you are making enough revenue it can make sense, when you are starting out ensure your CS teams are trained in how to use translation tools and let your buyers know this is what you've used, they won't mind!
Good luck with kicking off your international selling campaign! If you're starting now and a lot of your products are sensitive to peak seasons you can get a significant boost over the holidays. At the very least you can test some markets that you've been thinking would be good for your products.
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