Gifts / Sports & Toys

Although Christmas is coming, many overseas consumers are "tightening their belts" and reducing their spending on Christmas gifts due to the high inflation in Europe and the United States, the tightening of monetary policy, and the increased risk of economic downturn.

The negative impact of the shrinking demand in the European and American markets on the Christmas orders of Chinese international trade companies has already appeared.

Guo Jianzhang, business manager of Quanzhou Xiri Import and Export Trading Co., Ltd., clearly feels that the export trend of Christmas products this year is "changing": "Overseas economic downturn, reduced market demand, and reduced purchasing power have directly led to a decline in the company's Christmas orders."

"However, although the number of orders received by the company has declined, the export volume of international trade has increased. From January to October, the company's export volume was 6% higher than that of the whole year of last year. It is expected that the annual export volume will increase compared with last year 15% to 18%." Guo Jianzhang told the International Business Daily reporter that such a result was achieved on the one hand due to the "big congestion" of shipping last year, which caused some orders from customers to be delayed until January this year; on the other hand, it was due to the Most buyers are worried about repeating last year's tight supply chain, and generally placed orders in advance this year.

In addition, actively responding to the new situation and new changes, many foreign trade enterprises, including Quanzhou Xiri, are grabbing orders to stabilize exports by expanding channels.

Shrinking demand in Europe and the United States, Christmas season is not busy

This year's Christmas orders are a bit "cold". This is not the feeling of Guo Jianzhang alone. High inflationary pressures in Europe and the United States are gradually suppressing consumer demand, coupled with the impact of rising raw material prices and power cuts, many small and medium-sized enterprises have expressed that this year's Christmas orders are "more difficult to do".

"Judging from the Christmas orders received by the company, the unit price of the orders is generally low." The person in charge of a handicraft company in Yiwu said frankly.

The shrinkage on the supply side also reflects from the side that the demand side is getting colder. Since the beginning of this year, the monetary policies of developed economies such as Europe and the United States have continued to tighten, but their high inflationary pressure has not been significantly alleviated by the sharp increase in interest rates, and inflation has now affected residents' wages and household living expenses.

Matt Shea, chief executive of the National Retail Federation, said that as grocery, energy and housing costs rise, American consumers are spending less on items such as clothing and electronics. .It affects their gift-giving behavior to some extent, as well as their other spending during the holiday season."

A cost of living crisis for Britons is also looming as energy prices soar and inflation is pushed to a 41-year high. According to the latest survey released by Deloitte, 60% of British people think that their Christmas spending this year will be less than last year. 38% of British people plan to choose cheaper brands or stores when purchasing Christmas gifts, 11% of British consumers plan to buy second-hand goods as Christmas gifts, and 8% do not plan to buy Christmas gifts.

Customers place orders in advance and trade companies prepare with multiple hands

Under the background of shrinking orders, this year international trading companies received Christmas orders earlier than in previous years.

"According to the usual practice, customers will place Christmas orders from January to March every year, and April to August is the peak period for the export of Christmas products in the international trade. Missing the sales time, resulting in a backlog of inventory. This year, customers are worried about the situation last year, so most of them place orders in advance and require shipments 1 to 2 months in advance.” Guo Jianzhang told reporters that, therefore, this year’s Christmas orders in Quanzhou Xiri are large. Some of them have been shipped intensively from June to July, and only some loose orders will be shipped later.

Guo Jianzhang revealed that due to the "big congestion" of shipping last year, some orders from overseas customers were postponed until January this year. Therefore, although the company's Christmas orders this year have declined, the export volume of international trade has increased. At the same time, in recent years, the company has expanded some new customers through platforms such as the online Canton Fair, and has also achieved stable exports by actively grabbing orders.

The person in charge of the above-mentioned Yiwu company is also actively responding to the changes, contacting new and old customers online. "I can feel that customers are more and more willing to place orders early. Some customers may start to start next year after Christmas this year. order."

However, when it comes to next year's orders, companies generally expect that they will be "not very optimistic" as global inflation and economic downward pressure still exist.

In the face of challenges, Guo Jianzhang said that the company will continue to carry out targeted development based on the needs of key customers and launch more diversified and personalized products. At the same time, we will further strengthen cooperation with export credit insurance companies and banks to prevent the risk of export collection, apply for trade financing under credit insurance, make full use of government support policies, and actively respond to possible export risks.