What are the popular cross-border e-commerce platforms? Amazon, eBay, Shopee, Etsy, etc. Each platform will differentiate in product selection based on its own platform’s audience, positioning user needs, and related category resource allocation. Merchants often need to select related categories of products, tests, and hot items based on customer needs. Seize market share and form core competitiveness. So why are there differences in product selection on different platforms?
1. User needs. The audiences of the platforms are different, and the differences in audiences determine the differences in customer needs. The platform will locate the corresponding related categories based on user needs. But for general goods and just-needed products, all platforms are similar!
2. The core categories of the platform. Each platform will locate its core categories and main categories based on its own user demand analysis, that is, the platform’s own core competitiveness. For example, Amazon is a comprehensive e-commerce platform, and the differences in categories are not very obvious. eBay’s main categories tend to be machinery/outdoor/tools, so many sellers know that product selection is important but don’t know how to operate it. The Etsy platform focuses on original handicraft retro products, so DIY, wood products, leather products, jade carvings, etc.
3. Platform rules. Based on the above two points, the platform will have some corresponding rules and gameplay. Or the corresponding national and regional sites’ humanistic environment, national laws, consumption habits, etc., formulate corresponding restrictions, etc. Therefore, every platform’s investment promotion category, operating rules, profit standards, and even the profit pricing range of products are affected!
4. Consumption capacity. The consumption capacity of sellers on the platform also varies. For example, Shopee mainly focuses on volume, and obtains a large number of orders with low customer unit prices, thereby obtaining high profit margins. Sellers with mass production and first-hand sources can try Shopee, and the operation of the store group model can also be applied to the Shopee platform.
For platforms with high customer unit prices like Amazon and ETSY, they belong to the category of fine operation platforms.
5. Logistics model. The logistics form will also be affected. For example, in the overseas warehouse model, large items have an advantage. If it is a single product with relatively light weight, the platform also supports self-delivery or drop shipping. For example, if it is to European and American countries, the freight will also have a great impact, so it also depends on the customer unit price of the selected product! Make a product budget based on the logistics cost, do cost control, and then feedback to the product selection.