How To Leverage A $10 Billion Market? The Gift Industry Can Do This

 

June to September is usually the peak season for foreign gifts/arts and crafts. However, this year, following the ban on international business travel as a result of the new crown epidemic, the foreign trade market for gifts was also in a dire state. Traffic, gift orders and production in the bulk gift market were all down sharply compared to the same period in previous years. Orders for Christmas gifts were also down sharply in 2020 compared to previous years' hot holidays.

As a major exporter in the global gift and craft industry, the gift industry in mainland China is also in a state of rapid development, and the foreign trade market still has a large potential for development. In the transition period when the global epidemic is gradually brought under control and the demand for gifts is gradually rebounding, it has become a must for foreign trade enterprises in gifts to hold on to existing customers on the one hand and look for opportunities for cooperation with new customers on the other.

 

Gift industry: the global gift market has a consumption scale of US$40 billion

According to Statista data, the global gift/craft market was worth US$39 billion in 2019 and is expected to keep growing at an annual rate of 5.5 per cent.

However, in 2020, the global epidemic continues to cause overseas sourcing customers to cancel or delay orders, and cross-border retail sales have plummeted, with some industry categories even experiencing a precipitous drop in sales figures. Despite this, the outlook for the gifts and crafts industry remains positive in the face of the huge global consumer demand, which has a huge market size worldwide.

 

 

Gift industry: suggestions for major exporting countries and hot selling categories

How can gift foreign trade enterprises tap potential business opportunities under uncertain conditions due to the impact of the epidemic? Looking at the global market for gifts and crafts, developed countries in Europe and the US such as the US, Germany, the UK, Canada and Australia are still the mainstream consumers, but in recent years, the "Belt and Road" countries represented by India, Russia, Brazil, Nigeria, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and the "BRICS "However, in recent years, India, Russia, Brazil, Nigeria, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the BRICS countries are emerging strongly, and the demand for gifts in different countries or regions can be very different. The following are some of the top gift exporting countries and hot categories suggested:

 

The US is the world's largest gift market

Currently, the market for handcrafted crafts, pet products, stationery, stationery and office supplies, collectibles and other goods continues to expand. The annual retail sales of handmade crafts have reached US$12 billion, with fine art, artificial flowers and plants, picture frames, embroidery, stitching, pottery, jewellery, paint and cake decorating items being doubly popular.

 

Germany is the largest gift market in Europe

The German gift market is forecast to have a volume of approximately US$16 billion. Gifts in the traditional German sense are mainly candles, festive ornaments, gift boxes, ribbons and old-fashioned calendars, which are mainly imported from China and Poland. According to the German Federal Statistical Office, the size of the German broad gift market has remained at around US$16 billion in recent years.

 

Japan's gift market is huge, with a total market of over 15 trillion yen

The Japanese market can be divided into two categories of gifts, one is personal gifts, mainly including commemorative gifts, seasonal gifts, etc., the market size of about 7.93 trillion yen; the second is the corporate business gifts, the market size of 7.3 trillion yen.

 

UAE countries: ushering in new opportunities for the gift market

It is estimated that there are already over 1.4 billion consumers in the Middle East and growing by 38 million annually, making it the fastest growing region in the world. This huge number of consumers is driving the growth of the gift industry. In addition, tourism is also a major driver of the market, with 80% of tourists in the Middle East saying that shopping is their favourite pastime and the total market for the gift industry in the UAE countries is approximately US$2.3 billion. In terms of trade figures for the gift industry, the UAE country imports an average of over US$33.4 billion from China each year, with imports of household goods, toys, stationery and office supplies in particular at the forefront.

 

 

Opening up diversified markets may become a new direction for the development of foreign trade enterprises of gifts

The development of the Internet + gift industry in mainland China has seen both challenges and opportunities. With the deep integration of the Internet and the gift industry, foreign trade enterprises of gifts will also gradually change the OEM-based model towards the trend of personalisation, creativity and customisation of gifts. At the same time also need to put the quality of goods in the first place, to branding + Internet-based operation ideas, in response to global uncertainty in the environment, to seek a head start.

 

Market-oriented, optimised merchandise structure to increase the added value of products

In the fiercely competitive international market environment, mainland China gifts to occupy a certain market share in the international market, on the one hand, we must take the market as the guide, constantly optimise the commodity structure, enhance the cultural added value of gifts, so that gifts from the craft, design, cultural connotation and other aspects, can cover the target market home, office, travel, culture, entertainment and other user needs.

Another example is the rise of the single person economy in recent years, which has seen mini small home appliances make a comeback to the big market. A person fitness singing K, travel alone, like to buy small household appliances; post-90s, post-00s gradually become the main consumer, they pay more attention to their own feelings, they pursue the diversity of quality of life, so also led to the development of the single economy, but also deeply affected the development of the gift industry consumption.

 

Establish brand awareness and cultivate a new situation of export trade competition

Brand to the sea, is undoubtedly one of the current transformation strategies to change the plight of foreign trade enterprises with few orders and difficult trade. Not only need to enhance the technical content of crafts, cultivate a number of regional brands, industry brands, corporate brands and product brands that enjoy high visibility in the global context brand strategy. It is also necessary to strengthen overseas customers' positive perception of Mainland China's gift products through a series of overseas marketing and promotion strategies with strong social attributes to create a good brand image of "Made in China".

 

Customised and personalised products will be the future demand trend

From the perspective of gift demand, as the global standard of living improves and the importance of major festivals increases, gift givers are paying more and more attention to communication with the recipient, and personalised, humanised, creative and customised gifts are becoming the mainstream mode of gift purchasing. In addition, "Chinese-style" gifts with Chinese elements, such as big red paper-cut wedding invitation cards, woven jewellery boxes, bamboo folding fans, bamboo chopsticks and other gifts, are also gradually favoured by Western buyers, suggesting that in addition to paying attention to the customs of different countries on holidays, foreign trade partners should also focus on understanding the lifestyles of buyers in the selling countries to adapt.

 

Stabilise traditional markets and explore new ones

The United States, Japan, the European Union and other markets are the main traditional markets for gift export trade, these markets tend to be saturated with goods and competition is very fierce. In the face of the complex market and economic environment at home and abroad, gift foreign trade enterprises in the stability of traditional market share at the same time, both to invest a certain amount of capital and manpower, and constantly develop new markets, the implementation of market diversification strategy; but also to achieve online and offline resource interoperability, efficient and accurate to achieve the goal of expanding new customers, stable orders.