(I) American Market
As an important part of the global market, the American market is mainly divided into the South American market and the North American market. Among them, the North American market is represented by the United States, Canada, Mexico and other countries; the South American market is represented by Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and other countries. This book takes the American market as an example for analysis.
Life habits of American consumers
The United States is an immigrant country, a melting pot of nations, and has diversified demands. The American market emphasizes quality and brand, and pays special attention to product safety. The sales in the American market are highly seasonal, concentrated in February-May, July-September, and November-December. American consumers will experience the quality of products and have high requirements for services, especially after-sales services. They usually use credit cards for shopping. The number of online shoppers is also gradually increasing.
(II) European Market
The European e-commerce market can be divided into the Southern European market, the Northern European market, the Eastern European market, the Western European market and the Central European market based on location factors. Among them, the representative countries of the Southern European market are Spain, Portugal, Italy, etc.; the representative countries of the Northern European market are Denmark, Sweden, etc.; the representative countries and regions of the Eastern European market are Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, etc.; the representative countries of the Western European market are the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, etc.; the representative countries of the Central European market are Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, etc. This book takes the United Kingdom as an example for analysis.
1. Living habits of British consumers
The British advocate “gentlemanly manners” and “ladylike manners” and pay attention to “ladies first”. In daily life, the British pay attention to their appearance and dress. Men shave every day. Whenever they go out for social activities, they must wear dark suits, but avoid wearing striped ties; women wear Western-style suits or dresses. The British greeting is a handshake. When a man wearing a hat shakes hands with a British person, it is best to take off his hat before showing respect to the other party. But never shake hands with the British crosswise, and avoid cross toasts. When talking to the British, you should look at the other person’s head and exchange glances with him from time to time. When interacting with people, pay attention to using honorifics such as “please”, “thank you”, and “sorry”. Most British people adhere to the creed of “not asking about other people’s right and wrong” and are unwilling to allow others to enter their private lives. They regard their homes as “private castles” and no one can enter without invitation. Even neighbors rarely interact with each other. Non-working hours are “private time”. Generally, they do not carry out official activities. Talking about official business during meals is a taboo and annoying. Daily life is absolutely carried out according to the pre-arranged schedule, and the concept of time is very strong.
In terms of social interaction, more than 80% of British Internet users are active users of social media, and Facebook is the most popular social platform. There are also reports that every British customer is a user of at least two different social platforms. The main social media platforms in the UK are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
The British usually love animals very much, and cats and dogs are both loved. However, they are very disgusted with black cats. In addition, they don’t like elephants very much. The British have many taboos in terms of patterns. Patterns such as portraits, elephants, peacocks, and owls will make them very disgusted. When shaking hands, toasting or placing tableware, if a cross-like pattern appears accidentally, they also think it is very unlucky. The numbers that the British are most afraid of are “13” and “Friday”. When the two happen to come together, many British people will feel that a disaster is about to happen. They are also very afraid of “666”. In terms of color, the British prefer blue, red and white, and they dislike dark green.