In accordance with market analysis agency Statista, world e-commerce gross sales are projected to exceed $7 trillion by 2025. In response, US cosmetics and private care manufacturers are more and more adopting localization and strategic planning to faucet into worldwide markets and capitalize on this fast development.
The 2024 Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) procuring season showcased how these methods can drive success: in response to a latest firm press launch, International-e, a cross-border e-commerce options supplier, reported a 43% year-over-year uplift in BFCM weekend gross sales.
This record-breaking development highlights how US manufacturers can increase their attain and income by partaking world shoppers. Important gross sales will increase had been reported in markets similar to Germany, France, the UK, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, and Australia, illustrating the rising worldwide enchantment of U.S. manufacturers throughout BFCM.
We spoke to International-e’s CEO for North America, Matthew Merrilees, for his insights into actionable methods for refining US producers’ and suppliers’ world e-commerce efforts.
Localization is a pivotal technique for US cosmetics and private care manufacturers to compete in worldwide markets. “Providing on-line shoppers, from wherever on the planet, a seamless procuring expertise that’s localized to their market is essential to rising conversion fee, rising gross sales, and fostering buyer belief and retention,” Merrilees defined.
By “localizing your entire buyer journey on their web site,” he stated, manufacturers can present “shoppers worldwide with an optimum shopping for expertise that’s tailor-made and optimized to market traits and native procuring preferences.”
Merrilees clarified that “this contains displaying costs and accepting funds in native currencies and by way of a variety of cost choices, together with well-liked different and native choices which are introduced per market.” By offering buyers with “a assured ultimate value of their buy, together with all native import tax and responsibility charges,” manufacturers can “get rid of surprising prices and construct belief.”
Delivery and returns are equally crucial. “Setting the optimum supply and returns providing can affect conversion charges considerably,” Merrilees stated.
For instance, he illustrated, “with International-e, retailers can optimize their delivery proposition and supply clients a number of choices at aggressive charges, set per market, in addition to clear and simple return processes, together with pre-paid returns. This improves belief and satisfaction.”
This 12 months’s BFCM season demonstrated the facility of early promotions, with gross sales momentum starting as early because the second week of November. “We noticed a surge in world e-commerce procuring beginning at first of November, led by promotions that ran all through the month,” Merrilees famous.
For US manufacturers, extending promotional intervals can create a number of benefits, similar to giving “clients an extended time to deliberate and make purchases, in the end resulting in an general improve in orders and gross sales,” Merrilees stated.
He additionally highlighted the price advantages: “For manufacturers, this longer window presents alternatives to optimize media spending and capitalize on the sometimes decrease media prices within the weeks main as much as Black Friday weekend, as promoting prices throughout the weekend itself are considerably increased.”
Whereas US manufacturers typically deal with home gross sales, the 2024 BFCM season highlighted the worth of concentrating on world markets. Merrilees pointed to sturdy year-over-year development in worldwide areas, noting, “The Center East skilled probably the most vital year-over-year development this Black Friday/Cyber Monday season, with gross sales rising by 25% after a slower BFCM weekend in 2023.”
He added, “Europe additionally noticed substantial development, with a 19% year-over-year gross sales improve.”
For US producers and suppliers, understanding these tendencies can assist information choices on the place to speculate assets. “Many markets world wide skilled a year-on-year improve in gross sales over the 2024 BFCM weekend, reflecting the rising world nature of BFCM,” Merrilees stated.
International-e’s partnerships with high US magnificence manufacturers similar to Glossier, Kylie Cosmetics, and Fenty Magnificence reveal the significance of tailoring methods to the particular calls for of the cosmetics and private care market. “By analyzing billions of classes per market vertical and AOV, we offer magnificence manufacturers with proprietary native market insights to assist refine their world methods, improve their worth proposition, and drive additional development,” Merrilees shared.
These insights are significantly invaluable for US manufacturers trying to optimize their worldwide operations. “Setting the delivery proposition, for instance, could be crucial and ought to be weighed rigorously per every market, because it not solely impacts conversion but in addition model profitability,” Merrilees defined.
“This contains setting the free delivery threshold, the delivery strategies provided in every market, and even speaking the supply instances,” he clarified, including that “whether or not you determine to underpromise and overdeliver or attempt to meet quick supply home windows will affect conversion.”
Tax and responsibility issues additionally play a big position. “Manufacturers can leverage data-based finest practices to optimize their proposition, whether or not to embed the taxes and duties in product costs or current them clearly at checkout,” Merrilees suggested.
To achieve an more and more aggressive world market, Merrilees outlined three key methods for US cosmetics and private care manufacturers:
- Assume Globally, Promote Globally: “Increasing your e-commerce worldwide creates new alternatives and extra income streams,” Merrilees stated. “As soon as the precise infrastructure is in place, manufacturers shouldn’t restrict their e-commerce to some markets or particular areas.”
- Optimize Your International Proposition: “Constructing correctly your world proposition wouldn’t solely translate into increased conversion, gross sales, and a wider buyer base but in addition affect your backside line and permit you to protect margins and obtain worthwhile development,” he added.
- Make investments Advertising {Dollars} Correctly: “Establish markets with sturdy development potential and put money into advertising and marketing efforts accordingly,” Merrilees emphasised, recommending a data-driven strategy to prioritize high-opportunity markets.
By embracing these methods and leveraging classes from the 2024 BFCM season, US cosmetics and private care producers can unlock vital development alternatives in worldwide markets, setting the stage for long-term success in 2025 and past.