In recent years, Chinese manufacturing has been gaining popularity overseas, and the export of lighting products has been growing particularly rapidly. According to relevant statistics, China's total lighting exports in 2013 were US$11.7 billion (72.5 billion yuan), an increase of approximately 30% over 2012; exports in the first half of 2014 reached US$7.5 billion, an increase of 24% compared with the same period in 2013.
Faced with the sharp increase in overseas markets, domestic traditional lighting manufacturers are keenly aware of the business opportunities hidden behind them, and are looking beyond the domestic market to the world.
Recently, when the reporter visited the owner of a lighting factory in Guzhen, Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, he learned that the factory is gradually transforming from domestic trade sales to foreign trade sales, and has introduced foreign trade e-commerce platforms as the main channel for promotion. The factory owner also said that the introduction of an e-commerce platform is a relatively new attempt for the factory, and it has achieved good results so far.
"After registering, I tried to select a dozen products based on my own experience. As a result, I received five orders as soon as I uploaded seven products," he said. "This is so fast that I didn't expect it myself!"
During the interview, the reporter learned that since 2012, the lighting industry has developed by leaps and bounds, growing by 2-3 times every year. Taking the chandelier category as an example, in the first half of 2014, sales of the chandelier category accounted for 16% of the entire lighting industry, with a year-on-year growth of 154%. It is expected to grow approximately 2 times in the second half of the year. According to statistics, the current top ten best-selling categories on the platform are GU10 spotlights, LED light bars, downlights, chandeliers, mini stage lights, flashlights, lamp tubes, outdoor floodlights, solar lights, and lighting accessories.
Taking the chandelier category as an example, Google’s monthly searches have reached 500,000 times; among the top ten hot search terms on the platform, chandelier keywords account for five.
2) European, American and Australian buyers are the main buyers: half of the buyers are from the United States
According to relevant website data, the current top ten countries for sales of platform lamps are: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, Spain, France, Italy, Mexico and New Zealand.
Taking the chandelier category as an example, as of the first half of 2014, the United States, Australia, and Canada have become the top three countries where buyers are distributed, accounting for about 70% of the overall buyers. Among them, American buyers accounted for 49.66%, almost half of the total number of buyers. The United States has replaced Japan and become my country's largest lighting export destination.
The reporter also learned that European and American buyers tend to choose simple, retro, modern and other lighting styles, and follow foreign fashion trends very closely. Therefore, lighting sellers can selectively carry out targeted promotion and placement according to their own needs.
3) Platform profits are promising: single product profit margin reaches 178%
Among the best-selling categories of lamps on an e-commerce platform website, ceiling fan lights (downlights) belong to the platform's potential category, and foreign demand is very strong. As a seasonal product line, a certain ceiling fan lamp is mainly sourced from the ancient town of Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, and the platform's profit margin is as high as 178%.
4) LED lighting products are very popular: 500,000 units are sold per month
Among the hot-selling categories of lighting fixtures, another hot-selling item is LED lighting products. LED lighting products have been popular among overseas buyers in recent years due to their energy saving, environmental protection, and easy maintenance. Taking LED light bulbs as an example, the buyer group of this type of product is mainly enterprise-level buyers who wholesale large amounts, and the monthly sales volume of the platform reaches 500,000 pieces.
Currently, the use of LED energy-saving lamps in lighting systems has become a trend overseas. The Calgary City Government in Canada recently stated that it will replace with 80,000 LED light bulbs to create a high-quality lighting system for citizens. For cross-border e-commerce platform sellers, this is a potential business opportunity.
At present, lighting products, as a hot-selling category on cross-border e-commerce platforms, were once in short supply.
In addition, the reporter learned that in the promotion and marketing of lighting products, video marketing has been widely used among sellers, and its direct effect is more significant than other marketing methods.
ANNA