Foreign trade "Double 11" explores new trends in overseas consumption
In the post-epidemic era, "two festivals and one competition" has stimulated consumption enthusiasm in overseas markets; cycling fever and fitness trends have driven related categories to continue to heat up; a sign of the gradual recovery of global manufacturing is that Chinese excavators have become popular; under the shadow of the energy crisis, Europe The popular roof is covered with Chinese photovoltaics... Alibaba International Station's September Global Purchasing Festival is in full swing. It is known in the industry as "Double 11" in the foreign trade industry, and is often regarded as a weather vane for global buyers' purchasing needs. A few days ago The cross-border index released for the September Procurement Festival has sorted out many new consumption trends in overseas markets for us.
The "Double Festival" represented by the traditional Western Christmas and "Black Friday" is the strongest consumption node in overseas markets in the second half of the year. During this period, consumers are more inclined to "buy high quality at a low price" and pay more attention to IP creativity and flexible customization. At the same time, the "one match" potential represented by the Qatar World Cup should not be underestimated. The demand for event-related apparel and customized peripherals is rapidly increasing, and the products are mainly sold to host countries in the Middle East and regions with a large fan base such as South America, Southeast Asia, and Europe.
Low-carbon travel is superimposed on two major backgrounds of government subsidies in Europe and the United States, and the popularity of the global cycling market may continue for several years. Made in China, which has more than half of the world's production capacity, has been at full capacity to serve this demand, and the South American country's cycling market has an even stronger demand for electric bicycles and electric scooters.
In the fitness market, global fitness users continue to grow and are expected to exceed 1.3 billion in 2023. In the United States, the country with the largest fitness demand, one-tenth of the population is practicing yoga, and products such as yoga mats and foam rollers continue to be popular.
The cross-border index of the September Purchasing Festival shows that in the future global fitness market, commercial conversion to home use, miniaturization and intelligence have become the general trend. As the world's largest supplier of fitness equipment, China will seize the opportunity well. In addition, the fishing market is also continuing to heat up, and will enter the peak season by the end of the year. An interesting perspective is that China's fishing gear exports account for 80% of the world's total exports, more than half of which come from "Made in Weihai".
With the recovery of the global manufacturing industry, the demand for food machinery, plastic machinery, machine tools, etc. continues to increase. Among them, Chinese-made laser welding machines have become popular in the United States, Brazil, Russia and other markets due to their advantages of no pollution, high precision, and fast speed.
The continued high prices of international bulk commodities have brought about increasing demand for agricultural machinery and mining machinery. In 2022, agricultural machinery exports will increase by 31% year-on-year. The oil press made in China has a high oil yield and is suitable for a wide range of raw materials, especially in Asian and African countries.
In addition, governments of various countries have stimulated the strong demand for construction machinery, building materials machinery, etc. to stimulate the economy and increase investment in infrastructure. The buyers of construction machinery are mainly concentrated in the countries along the “Belt and Road”, and the commodities tend to be small-scale automation. Small excavators under 3 tons are very popular in Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam. With the maturity of domestic substitution of core components such as engines and hydraulic parts, excavators have become the most internationally competitive products made in China.
In terms of home improvement building materials, overseas home improvement renovation has become a boom. Nearly 80% of the houses in the United States are more than 20 years old, and nearly 50% of the houses are more than 40 years old. Chinese building materials manufacturers with overseas engineering capabilities will be the biggest beneficiaries of this business opportunity.
Affected by soaring energy prices such as natural gas and electricity, distributed photovoltaic and wind power complementary systems have become mainstream in the European market, and sales of household energy storage systems have risen rapidly under the subsidy policy. Because rooftop photovoltaics are not limited by land, the development conditions are relatively convenient. Spain, France and other countries have successively introduced government subsidies, tax and fee reductions, and accelerated grid-connected approvals to encourage the development of rooftop photovoltaics.
The European market has huge potential for rooftop photovoltaics and is expected to become an important growth pole for the photovoltaic industry. The cross-border index suggests that domestic new energy merchants should focus on improving the service capabilities of the entire link, improving product certification in mainstream markets in Europe and the United States, and overseas after-sales installation and maintenance capabilities are a plus.
In addition, with the popularity of new energy vehicles, lithium batteries are also accelerating to the sea. In the first half of 2022, China's lithium battery exports increased by 75.3% year-on-year. The United States is the most important market for China's battery exports, with a year-on-year increase of 101.35%.