The United States is one of the most open markets in the world, with annual merchandise trade imports exceeding US$1.1 trillion.
The United States is China's main trading partner. Now more than 100 billion U.S. dollars of products made in China enter the United States every year. Most of these products are consumer goods, and most of them enter the United States through many intermediate links.
Many factories in China are out of touch with the production and market, and lack understanding of the international market.
This requires companies to know more about the international market.
Five major characteristics of the U.S. consumer goods market:
1. The U.S. market has a large capacity
The U.S. market has the largest capacity in the world, and the U.S. is also the largest consumer goods market in the world.
First of all, it is because Americans have strong spending power, and the average annual income of Americans exceeds US$30,000.
Secondly, Americans have a strong sense of consumption. Not only do Americans save less, they also spend ahead of time. Many people have credit cards, or even several.
The third is that Americans update consumer goods quickly. Many daily necessities are used for less than one year. They often buy new ones not because the old ones are broken, but because they "like the new and hate the old" and encounter new things. Fashionable or holiday products on sale will arouse their willingness to buy.
Finally, because of the high labor costs in the United States, *** stipulates that the hourly wage is higher than 5 US dollars, and in some regions and industries, the hourly wage is higher than 10 US dollars. Therefore, the United States produces more labor-intensive consumer goods. Has been transferred to other countries and regions.
Therefore, the daily consumer goods needed in the domestic market of the United States mainly rely on imports, and the demand for imports is quite large.
For example, many of the clothing, footwear, bags, gifts, small appliances, furniture, bedding, lamps, stationery, tools, toys, kitchenware, tableware, etc. on the market are imported.
And this trend is still rising and is unlikely to change.
The prosperity indicators of the U.S. economy may affect the sales of high-end goods, but they will not reduce the public’s purchase of cheap and practical daily consumer goods made in China.
2. The U.S. market is highly receptive
The United States is a country of immigrants, and American society is a melting pot of ethnic groups.
Most of the 280 million people in the United States are immigrants from different countries, regions, and ethnic groups, or their descendants.
They have different cultural traditions and customs. The diversification of the U.S. population structure determines the diversity of the U.S. consumer goods market.
Immigrants in the United States are not only accustomed to using their own ethnic and traditional products, but also very curious and fresh about the products of other ethnic groups in the world. Therefore, American consumers are very interested in various products on the market. They are very receptive and rarely reject.
Secondly, due to the large gap between rich and poor in the United States, the high, middle and low-income classes constitute different levels of consumer groups and specific markets at different levels, and the scale is considerable. Therefore, high, middle and low-end people from all over the world The products are in great demand in the United States.
Third, Americans are more realistic. They only focus on personal preference or convenience when shopping and spending, and don’t care much about what others think. Few people in society discuss other people’s consumption.
Therefore, some people with higher incomes often go to discount stores to buy bargains, or even visit 90-90 stores or flea markets.
It is worth mentioning that with the increase in the number of middle-income people in the United States, the middle-income class in the United States has now become the main body of the consumer goods market and the main target of the business community.
Therefore, the goods produced in China should pay attention to improving the grade, attracting this consumer group, and obtaining higher added value of goods.
3. The U.S. market has sound laws and regulations, and industry associations control the market
The U.S. market economy is relatively mature. *** There are few restrictions on the business scope and business methods of enterprises, but it imposes restrictions on the import and export of products from all walks of life, as well as wholesale, Retail sales have extremely detailed regulations and licensing requirements, and enforcement is very strict.
Especially in terms of trademarks, environmental protection, safety, taxation, and labor.
Therefore, when engaging in business in the United States, you must not only learn to understand and act in accordance with the law, but it is also best to ask professionals to handle it. You must not be self-righteous and apply the habits in mainland China.
Companies engaging in trade in the United States must hire lawyers as legal advisors and have accountants to help handle company taxes to avoid accidentally violating regulations.
In addition, there are associations in all walks of life in the United States. The industry associations in the United States play a very important role and can influence government decision-making and the market.
In order to protect the interests of the industry, they lobby *** to formulate favorable policies, organize various seminars for industry development, organize exhibitions to develop markets, publish magazines, and provide market information to members.
Some industry regulations in the United States are often proposed and drafted by these associations, such as anti-dumping bills for many products.
Therefore, if Chinese companies and products want to enter the United States, they must not only study the corresponding industry associations, but also join these industry associations.
It is easy to join an American industry association, and you can enjoy the corresponding benefits by paying the membership fee.
American industry associations have a strong sense of service to their members.
For some companies, becoming a member of an industry association means that they are within this circle and are more likely to be recognized by customers, especially some well-known associations with a long history.
4. The American market attaches great importance to quality, brand, and product safety
The American market's meaning of product quality has been expanded to a broad sense and is not limited to general product uses, technical indicators, and scale. They believe that these are Products entering the market should meet quality standards.
They also include the quality of product packaging, the quality of product instructions, and especially the quality of after-sales service into the meaning of quality.
These are often things that Chinese companies do not pay much attention to.
Therefore, Chinese companies should have a deeper understanding of product quality requirements.
In addition, according to the practice of the American market, major American retailers accept returns from customers. As long as there is an invoice, even if the packaging has been opened and the product has been used, it can be returned or exchanged without any explanation.
Because the loss of returns is not borne by the retailer, import wholesalers must strictly control product quality.
Of course, this can ensure that fake and shoddy products cannot enter such large shopping malls, and the credibility of the shopping mall will naturally be improved.
American consumers have a strong recognition of product brands, because brands contain their understanding of the concept of quality and more accurately represent their consumption levels, so they buy more branded products. products and are willing to pay more.
However, branded products are not necessarily high-priced. The brands of American products are often aimed at different consumer groups. Generally, the price can be known by the brand. For example, Macys is mid-range, and Wal-Mart ( Wal-Mart) is relatively cheap and popular.
Competition in the U.S. market is very fierce, and dealers have to bear liability insurance for their products. If merchants are not careful, they will be sued for huge compensation.
Therefore, the United States has very strict quality requirements for products. The labels, packaging, and instructions of various products must comply with the requirements of the American market to clarify responsibilities.
The most prominent among them are safety standards. For example, electronic products must comply with UL standards, lighters must prevent children from opening them and causing fires, toy parts must not fall off and be swallowed by children, and safety requirements for the import of various types of food. It is even more strict, and some products are not allowed to be arbitrarily labeled as having medicinal functions.
5. Sales in the U.S. market are highly seasonal.
The U.S. consumer goods market has strong seasonal demand for various commodities, usually divided into spring (January-May), summer (July-September) and holiday season (November-December) .
Every season has seasonal sales***. For example, Thanksgiving (end of November) is the winter holiday shopping season for Americans, especially Christmas, which is the peak sales season for American goods throughout the year. , typically accounting for one-third of annual sales.
U.S. importers organize their import orders according to their domestic sales seasons. If the sales season is missed, these goods will be difficult to sell, which means that they will withdraw from the U.S. market this year, or even be excluded by competitors for a long time. outside the market.
This is why some Chinese companies not only fail to get payment but are also fined if they fail to deliver goods on contract date.
In addition, there are many holidays in the United States, such as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, which are good opportunities for businesses to sell gifts.
As a country with a large number of immigrants, the United States has its own different traditional festivals of various ethnic groups. These traditional festivals have formed a large number of consumer markets, and businesses are trying to use these traditional festivals to promote sales.