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▶ Video account attention cross-border navigation It is learned that on September 16, affected by the continued interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, the onshore RMB against the US dollar has fallen below the "7" mark, hitting a new low since November 2020. As of 11:06 on September 19, the exchange rate of the US dollar against the RMB reached 7.0066 . Based on this, the US dollar exchange rate breaking 7 has become a hot topic of discussion among cross-border sellers recently: "The exchange rate is fluctuating so much right now, so you should be cautious when withdrawing money." "Luckily I held on and didn't withdraw my money when the price went up. Now I have tens of thousands more in exchange than before." “Maybe there’s a chance to get to 7.3!” Judging from the current situation, in the short term, due to the strengthening of expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, the US dollar exchange rate will continue to stabilize at around 7, which is undoubtedly good news for cross-border sellers on US sites. In addition, with the continuous rise of the US dollar, freight rates have also continued to fall for the first time in recent times. Global shipping costs continue to fall, but sellers' profits have not increased? It is learned that since the beginning of this year, affected by factors such as continued inflation in Europe and the United States and geopolitical conflicts, global shipping prices have continued to fall , and the downward trend accelerated in the third quarter. The prices of some routes have fallen by more than 50% from their peak last year . According to the latest public data, the Shanghai Export Container Comprehensive Freight Index is 2562.12 points, down 10% from the previous period, and has been falling for 13 consecutive weeks. In addition, Drewry's World Container Freight Index (WCI) has fallen for 28 consecutive weeks, with the latest decline reaching 5% to $5,378.68/FEU, down 47% from the same period last year. The Baltic Ocean Freight Index (FBX) global composite index is $4,862/FEU, down 8% last week. As of the 9th, the freight rate from Shanghai Port to the US West Coast base port market has reached US$3,484/FEU (40-foot container), down 12% from the previous period, a new low since August 2020 , and nearly 90% lower than last year's high. In addition to the North American route, the freight rates on routes to Europe, the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf, Australia and New Zealand, and South America have also fallen. Due to the decline in overseas consumer demand, the demand for shipping capacity has decreased, and supply and demand are unbalanced. The era of sky-high ocean freight rates seems to have come to an end, but sellers' profits still show no signs of increasing. In this regard, a senior Amazon seller also raised a question: Shipping costs have fallen, the US dollar exchange rate has risen, why is the profit margin still so low? ▲ The picture comes from Weibo It is understood that in addition to the impact of the external environment, the profit reduction is mainly due to the following internal reasons: - Traffic costs: Advertising costs continue to rise, but conversion rates have declined;
- Return costs: Doddle survey shows that the global cross-border online shopping return rate is as high as 30%, and retailers lose approximately US$100 billion in returns each year.
- Platform costs: Amazon has continuously raised FBA delivery fees; the epidemic has intensified competition, and the spiral war of platform prices continues.
Among them, the most notable is the continuation of the price spiral war in platform costs. Recently, a lawsuit filed by California against Amazon also revealed the restrictions Amazon had previously imposed on product prices. Amazon sellers are not allowed to sell at lower prices on other platforms! It is learned that on September 14th, US time, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that California has filed a lawsuit against Amazon in the San Francisco Superior Court for violating the state's antitrust and unfair competition laws. Rob Bonta said Amazon asked third-party sellers to sign an agreement that prohibited third-party sellers from selling products at lower prices on competing websites such as eBay and Walmart. Sellers who fail to comply with the regulations will have their search rankings lowered, their Buy Box removed, and in serious cases, their sales suspended or their accounts blocked. In addition, wholesalers on Amazon also sign similar agreements : if the profit margin generated by Amazon's sales prices based on the market's lowest price is lower than the specified minimum, wholesalers will be required to compensate. In some cases, Amazon will also require wholesalers to compensate if competitors' products are lowered. Some sellers speculate that the reason why the price spiral on Amazon has intensified recently, in addition to being affected by the market environment of consumption downgrade, may also be related to Amazon's regulations. However, it is worth noting that as the pressure of antitrust investigations gradually increases, some industry insiders pointed out that Amazon may adjust relevant regulations and relax some restrictions on sellers. At the same time, Amazon has also released multiple positive signals. In addition to the email marketing function announced at the Amazon Accelerate conference not long ago, the recent Amazon Global Store Launch Conference will also release more benefits. 【Cantonese music moves the world, tells you about Asia】 2023 Amazon Global Store Launch Conference Shenzhen Policy benefits are upgraded, and flash sales plans seize the market Official tools empower products, star sellers share their knowledge The annual grand offering, carefully prepared on site Scan the QR code below to sign up See you at Shenzhen Bolin Tianrui Sheraton Hotel on September 21st
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