Author: Luz Ruiz
It is well known that the Christmas season is the strongest in relation to consumerism. The Christmas period collects the highest levels of spending each year, on a large majority of products; fashion, leisure, gift, food and drinks, etc.
These are some of the trends that are expected this year:
Online Shopping
Due to the stress that Christmas shopping can cause (largely caused by the large number of people trying to shop in commercial stores). According to a study by Ipsos and commissioned by PayPal, 51% of mobile users still have concerns about security when they buy through their mobile. Knowing that 95% of Spanish consumers buy online, and that 69% pay through the mobile phone, this is a problem that must be addressed.
Customer service is key for consideration
According to Criteo, “delivering great experiences at every stage of the customer journey is the best way to get noticed, get traffic, and get sales this Christmas season”.
Digital gifts
Digital gifts, such as subscriptions to series and movie or video game platforms, are increasingly present. More and more consumers decide to buy this type of original and different gifts, such as a subscription to Spotify or HBO, e-books or software.
As for the most desired gifts, these items occupy the first places in the list of the most desired:
- Clothes and footwear
- Money
- Books
- Trips
- Perfumes and cosmetics
- Restaurants
- Smartphones and mobiles
- Computers
- Tickets to shows
- Treatments of beauty, health, spa …
According to Giselle Abramovich from Adobe “The Thanksgiving Through Cyber Monday Weekend Kicks Off Holiday Shopping Mode While shopping did start early this year, the five-day period from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday accounted for $1 in $5 (19.2%) of total online retail revenue during the holidays.
Consumers spent an average 40% more per day during the three weeks after Cyber Monday than the first three weeks of the season. “We saw that holiday sales spiked on key days and then continued to rise until Dec. 21,” Taylor Schreiner (from Adobe) said. “The rising revenue was due to a steady increase in conversion as opposed to consumers spending more per order.” Adobe also found that retailers reached the $100 billion USD mark 11 days earlier in 2018 than they did in 2017 (Dec. 15 versus Dec. 26)”.
SOURCES
In 2019 and 2020, the Japanese economy will continue growing slightly above its potential (which stands at around 0.6%) supported by: the ultra-monetary monetary policy of the Bank of Japan, investments in infrastructures (to prepare the Games Tokyo Olympics 2020), and the measures government to encourage investment business and market share labor.
Japan is a market of high purchasing power, mature and with a lot of international competition, where countries that have a reputation as suppliers of good quality (Spain, Italy, USA, and others) find it easier to sell their products.
According to The International Trade Administration “Japan’s population is declining as it ages rapidly. The population may decrease by as much as one third by 2060, from 127 million to 87 million. The proportion of the population older than 65 will rise from 27% today to 40% by 2060. The Japanese Government and business community seek to offset its effects on economic growth and government budget resources. The aging population shapes demand and opportunities in various segments:
- Medical devices and equipment
- Pharmaceuticals
- Healthcare facilities and infrastructure, including in-home care
- Biotechnology
- Healthcare information technology
- Safety-related products and services
- Robotics
- Leisure and travel Educational services
- Home delivery services
- Financial services
The Guardian states that “Japan's business culture is very formalised and subject to many protocols. It's easy for an outsider unaware of the appropriate etiquette to cause offence accidentally. Greg McCray is the chief executive of Acal Energy, a hydrogen fuel cell company based in Cheshire, which is expanding into Japan. McCray also spent over a decade trading with Japan at a previous company and has learned much about doing business there. "Japanese businesses are very formal, you don't walk in and start telling jokes. You wear a suit and tie, follow protocol and respect the hierarchy of the business," he says.
As for the food industry, the Japanese consumer attaches great importance to food safety and is aware of the adverse effects on health that the excessive use of chemical products have, which is why the demand has increased for organic products.
The Japanese consumer has a high purchase value, is very demanding in terms of quality and relies heavily on Japanese companies that provide them with products or services, whether local or imported. As for agricultural production, the Japanese market does not meet domestic demand, so it requires importing fruits and vegetables in large proportions.
SOURCES
https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2013/mar/05/guide-exporting-japan
https://www.export.gov/article?id=Japan-Market-Overview
https://www.caixabankresearch.com/system/files/fp-japon-es.pdf
http://iberglobal.com/frame.htm?http://iberglobal.com/images/archivos/japon_consumidor_mckinsey.pdf
Clean technology refers to the products, tools or processes that seek to reduce environmental pollution, and waste. They are elements that hardly require non-renewable resources. It is a very competitive and productive technology that causes less environmental damage than other types of technologies.
According to Marketwatch, “High delivery and superior performance can be achieved using clean technology. Also, it improves customer profitability, by carrying out cost reduction and increases revenue. Such type of technologies are used in large number of industries, comprising water, manufacturing, energy, transportation and advanced materials. Instances of clean technologies are solar and wind energy, industrial process controls, hybrid electric vehicles and water filtration. Owing to the large number of environmental benefits, clean technology is considered to be an inherent part of a sustainable economy.
Although clean technologies are a worldwide trend, some markets are better prepared for its implementation.
USA
EDC states that “a recent report by BloombergNEF, U.S. investment in clean energy hit US$64.2 billion in 2018, surpassing 2011’s previous high of US$62.3 billion. Almost 80% of Canada’s cleantech exports go to the United States under the CUSMA umbrella. In California, for example, long-standing problems with air quality have led to tight emissions regulations. This is driving cleantech research, development and technology adoption in the electricity and transportation sectors. In addition, the growing stress on California’s water resources is escalating the need for advanced technology for water management and conservation. Canada has expertise in all these areas”.
China
According to EDC, “China’s heavy investment in green solutions—nearly $270 billion USD in 2016—flows from the county’s rapid urbanization and from the need for increased sustainability and reduced carbon emissions. Despite this expenditure, however, a large investment gap remains. This is partly because of falling government subsidies and a growing need for industrial-scale remediation. At a conservative estimate, China’s cleantech needs will exceed $290 billion usd annually over the next four years. This will likely be met not only by the country’s own internal resources, but also by purchases from the rest of the world.
There are opportunities for exports in a variety of sectors:
- air pollution control and air monitoring;
- industrial air pollution reduction;
- power plant emissions reduction;
- solid and hazardous waste management and recycling;
- municipal water and wastewater treatment and facilities development;
- groundwater monitoring,
- pollution prevention and remediation;
- and environmental engineering and consulting.
Other important markets
Lynn Coté states that:
“Mexico requires water resources equipment and services, as well as products and technologies for solid waste management, soil remediation, recycling and air monitoring.
Australia is developing smart grids and advanced energy storage. In Vietnam, water and wastewater treatment, solid waste management and air pollution control are key needs”.
SOURCES
https://www.edc.ca/en/blog/global-markets-for-cleantech.html
https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/clean-technology-market.html
https://www.statista.com/topics/3001/clean-technology-investments/
Japan, located in East Asia, has an area of 377,970 km2. With a population of 126,529,100 people, Japan is a very populated country and has a high population density, with 335 inhabitants per km2.
Its capital is Tokyo and its currency is Japanese Yen. Japan is the third-largest economy in the world by volume of GDP.
The last annual CPI variation rate published in Japan in October 2019 was 0.2%. Japan is one of the countries with the lowest percentage of unemployed people in the world.
There are several reasons why exporting products and services to Japan:
High level of per-capita income
Between 27% and 30% of the per capita income of the Japanese citizen goes to food consumption. Considering that the GDP per capita amounts to USD $ 34,100 per year, the amount of food expenditure per person would range around USD $ 10,000.
Restrictions
Exports from Japan are not subject to any restrictions. The "Export Permit" and the "Export Approval" are necessary even if they only concern internationally recognized goods because they are subject to such restrictions (weapons, nuclear energy, missiles, etc.). The restrictions on rice have been lifted.
Infrastructure
According to Santander Trade Portal “Japan has 128 ports, including 23 main ports, located along the Japanese coast. Ports are the basis of 99% of Japanese foreign trade and 42% of internal distribution. The 'Three Great Bays' handle about 35% of all sea cargo in Japan. This group includes the port of Tokyo (six ports, including Yokohama and Tokyo), the port of Osaka (five ports including Kobe and Osaka) and the port of Ise (five ports, including Nagoya). In 2014, the transfer of merchandise by air reached 8,662 million tons per kilometer (the sixth highest volume globally)”.
Doing business
Japan is in the 39th position of the 190 that make up the Doing Business ranking, which classifies countries according to the ease they offer to do business.
Transparency
Japan has obtained 73 points in the Corruption Perception Index published by the Organization for International Transparency, so its inhabitants have a low level of perception of government corruption.
SOURCES:
https://www.shippingsolutions.com/blog/exporting-to-japan
https://www.allianceexperts.com/en/knowledge/countries/asia/exports-to-japan/
https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2013/mar/05/guide-exporting-japan
https://santandertrade.com/en/portal/international-shipments/japan/exporting-products
Due to its geographic position and its recent membership to the European Union, Croatia has become an attractive country for investors. Since the country imports twice as much in value as it exports, starting a company in the trade sector can be a profitable decision.
Croatia occupies a strategic location at the heart of Central and Eastern Europe. Its economy is gaining strength and it offers a market with significant growth potential.
Growing economy
The Croatian economy is one of the most developed in Southeast Europe. It is characterised by an increasing number of vibrant and innovative companies across multiple industry sectors. These internationally competitive businesses have strong growth potential and could be excellent partners for UK suppliers.
Emerging Europe
Croatia can act as a gateway to trade with other countries in the Central and Eastern Europe region, a market of over 100 million consumers (World Bank, 2019) which offers great potential for businesses.
Main Benefits (according to gov.ok)
- about 50% of population speak English
- increasingly sophisticated consumers
- modern distribution channels
- equal rights for domestic and foreign private and legal entities
- guaranteed free transfer of capital and free profit repatriation to investors
- average gross wages are high in comparison with neighbouring counties
Strengths of the Croatian market include:
- good transport links
- highest Internet penetration in southeast Europe
- well educated workforce
- stable economy with a stable currency
The U.S. Commercial Service estates that “Croatia is a small and complex market, but plays an important role in the economic and political stability of Southeast Europe. This region, the size of Texas in area, represents a market of roughly 60 million people and over $600 billion in GDP. It has significant growth potential, as its integration process into the European Union continues and as local populations strive to achieve the lifestyle of the more developed Western European countries that have three-four times higher GDP per capita.
Croatia is in an excellent geographic position to serve as a regional hub for U.S. companies. Zagreb, its capital, is only about a four-hour drive away to Vienna, Venice, Budapest, or Belgrade, and only a two-hour drive from the beautiful Adriatic coast. Croatia has excellent roads, sound ICT infrastructure, and a competitive white-collar workforce. The quality of life in Croatia is very high: it is a safe country, with tasty food, well-preserved nature, a mild climate, and abundant historical sites and other tourist attractions”.
SOURCES:
http://www.worldstopexports.com/croatias-top-10-exports/
https://www.great.gov.uk/markets/croatia/
https://www.companyformationcroatia.com/imports-and-exports-in-croatia
In order to make efficient action plans, companies need to know the forecasts for 2020, the current requirements of the buyer as well as international technological trends.
Access to information, being more aware of how we consume and produce, self-sufficiency, authenticity and the search for experiences are some of the trends that will influence consumers during 2019. According to the study on the main consumer trends conducted by Euromonitor International (a market research provider), consumers are looking to reduce consumerism and are starting to move away from media saturation.
AGE WON’T MATTER THAT MUCH
The market research firm expects there will be an increase in consumers who do not care about age. Demographic groups such as baby boomers - the generation born between 1946 and 1964 - have shown a fondness for the adoption of new technologies and are redefining age labels and therefore are changing the perception of the subject in their forms of consumption.
CONSCIOUS CONSUMER
Consumers will become more aware of the products and brands they consume, particularly those related to animal welfare ethics. The firm foresees a rise in consumers who will look for products that are friendly to the environment, in their dealings with animals and this will impact their way in food consumption and in the purchase of certain products that were previously considered niche.
DIGITAL
A greater use of technological tools will expand to other sectors such as health, medicine or work and will cease to be exclusively a tool for entertainment or productivity. The development of technologies linked to virtual reality or augmented reality will help to develop more digitized interpersonal experiences, but also with a lot of potential in other areas.
THE IMPORTANCE OF DATA
According to Jing Daily, “In 2020 premium brands will go beyond statistics and demographics, offering personalized content based on behavioral data. We will witness how brands will create experience-driven content marketing through customer data integration. Furthermore, luxury brands will take further steps to understand and analyze unstructured data coming from social media, weblogs, and emails, while creating marketing strategies that leverage the power of both structured and unstructured data. It’s safe to say that even in 2020 data analytics will continue to optimize the customer’s experiences and deliver personalization at a larger scale”.
A WORLD FREE OF PLASTIC
According to the consumption analysis firm, 63% of food, beverage, beauty products, home care and pet food containers are made of plastic. One of the trends that gained the most weight during 2018 was to start reducing the consumption of plastic as a matter of environmental protection and the consequences of man-made climate change.
IMMEDIATE
For Euromonitor, consumers will continue to look for services and platforms that help them meet their needs with a high degree of satisfaction and help them save time in their daily routine.
SOURCES:
https://jingdaily.com/luxury-marketing-trends-2020/
https://medium.com/@trustcodes/consumer-trends-that-will-shape-2020-e369d0a481e4
https://www.bakingbusiness.com/articles/49320-eight-consumer-trends-for-2020
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/341216
https://blog.euromonitor.com/euromonitor-reveals-the-top-10-global-consumer-trends-in-2019/
According to Santader Trade Portal “Dutch prosperity has always been based on its international trade and the geographic location of the country makes it a European trade hub, with Rotterdam being the largest European port. With high-tech industries and services, foreign trade is one of the main pillars of the Dutch economy, representing an impressive 161.2% of GDP in 2017 (World Bank), one of the most open and outward-oriented economies in the world”.
World’s top exports states The Netherlands shipped US$723.3 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2018. That dollar amount reflects a 7.5% increase since 2014 and an 11.6% gain from 2017 to 2018 for the economically powerful European Union member.
Netherlands has one of the top economies of the world and it is one of the world’s leading exporting countries. Foodstuffs represent the largest industrial sector of the country. During the last several years, Netherlands has also imposed itself as one of the largest exporters of flowers and seeds in Europe.
Advantages include:
- Member of EU single market
- Early adopter of new technology
- One of the world's most open economies
K International states that “Netherlands’ geographic location has made it a key trading post for centuries, and it continues in that role today. Rotterdam is home to Europe’s largest port, with around 450 million tonnes of cargo passing through it every year. The country provides a high level of economic freedom and a highly skilled, multilingual workforce. According to the World Integrated Trade Solution service from the World Bank, Netherlands imports products worth USD$398,336,339.31 thousand per year. Its exports total USD$444,867,363.31 thousand per year”
According to The International Trade Administration:
- Netherlands is a geographically small (approximately the size of the state of Maryland), densely populated (17 million people) country occupying a highly strategic commercial location, with Europe’s largest port (by volume) in Rotterdam.
- Over 170 million consumers (roughly one-third of the population of the expanded European Union of 28 Member States) reside within a 300-mile radius of Rotterdam.
- More than 80 percent of Netherlands’ GDP is generated by foreign trade in goods and services.
- Netherlands is a key center within the global business network with an advanced infrastructure geared towards the transportation of goods, people, and electronic data.
- Its core distribution points include Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port, and Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, the fourth largest airport in Europe.
- Netherlands has capitalized on its location and advanced economy to become one of the top dozen trading countries in the world.
- Netherlands is the seventeenth largest economy in the world and the fifth largest in the European Monetary Union (the Eurozone), with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $912 billion in 2018.
An additional factor, the importance of which should not be underestimated, is the difference in the interaction with the various tax and customs administrations amongst the EU. Some tax and customs administration take a very formal approach, whereas other administrations are very much open to dialogue.
The Dutch tax and customs administration belong to the latter. They are well-known for their pro-active approach and high service level. They are also receptive to confirm certain arrangements in writing, which guarantees certainty (upfront) for taxable entities.
SOURCES
https://www.hollandtradeandinvest.com/business-information/export--import
http://www.worldstopexports.com/netherlands-top-10-exports/
https://www.export.gov/article?id=Netherlands-Import-Requirements-and-Documentation
https://santandertrade.com/en/portal/country-profile/37,netherlands
https://www.export.gov/article?id=Netherlands-Market-Overview
One of the biggest questions that comes to an entrepreneur when he wants to expand his horizons and start is, how do I know if my company is ready to export our products or services?
Careful planning is the key so that your decision to export and enter the international trade field has the success you propose. As part of your company's growth plans, exporting is a challenge that you must assume with the same commitment you serve your national market, or perhaps more, as competition increases and quality demands too.
Among the exporting advantages, we can find the following:
- Reach new markets and customers
- Possibility of growth and development of your company thanks to the new income you generate
- Make the most of installed production capacity
- Strengthen the competitiveness of your goods or services in price and quality
- Reduce unit costs by increasing sales volumes
- Improve your business image
- Greater technological interaction
- Create new jobs and attract new currencies to the country
But, as we said, it is necessary that you plan your entry into the export field well and be prepared for the fluctuations of the exchange market.
Exporting a product requires developing a series of analyzes and studies to determine whether the product or service in question is exportable or not. This process of business internationalization requires an objective long-term vision, in addition to a previous review of the market where the company is going to enter.
There are a number of small details that you should assess before taking a product abroad, such as the verification of the name, design details, labeling, dimensions, checking if the images can be offensive in the country of destination or adaptation to the new language from the article. However, a series of procedures to export must also be assessed.
There are also other exporting procedures that you should evaluate before deciding on the internationalization of your business, such as the following:
- Know the customs laws of the countries where you will export, but also the precise data on packaging, labeling, documentation and health.
- You must be sure that you have enough production capacity to land abroad.
- Maintain alliances and agreements with other companies in the country of destination.
- Obtain recognition of quality standards, according to market requirements.
Is it a simple process? No. But with the right help and advice, exporting your products can be quite simple as well as beneficial for your business! If you are interested in knowing more about how we can help you take your products to other markets just contact us!
SOURCES:
https://www.cnbc.com/2013/11/18/when-should-your-business-start-exporting.html
https://www.fundera.com/blog/how-to-start-an-imports-exports-business
https://www.businesswest.co.uk/blog/9-export-essentials-how-start-exporting
https://www.shippingsolutions.com/blog/14-reasons-small-businesses-should-start-exporting
https://www.cnbc.com/2013/11/18/when-should-your-business-start-exporting.html