Last week, keywords such as "gifts" and "Christmas" topped the hot search word lists on multiple Amazon sites. The strong festive atmosphere indicates that Amazon's Christmas peak season is approaching.

However, on the eve of Christmas, sellers' orders were not satisfactory and did not reach the ideal state of booming orders during the peak season, which led to sellers' low interest in this holiday.

Recently, many sellers have reported that their sales have dropped a lot, especially on Christmas Eve. Is the off-season really coming?

▲ The picture comes from Zhiwubuyan

On a cross-border forum, a seller asked: What happened in the UK? The number of orders has dropped by two-thirds, traffic has dropped sharply, and there is no advertising left. Is the lockdown having such a big impact?

▲ The picture comes from Zhiwubuyan

In fact, it is not just the sellers on the UK site who are experiencing a drop in traffic. Sellers on other sites are also experiencing the same problem. " It was fine yesterday, but it dropped sharply today. I am almost heartbroken."

          ▲ The picture comes from Zhiwubuyan

It is understood that as of now, a large number of sellers have experienced a decline in order volumes on Christmas Eve, and the degree of decline in order volumes for sellers on different sites varies . Some have dropped by two-thirds, some have been directly halved, and some sellers have even had zero orders.

In the seller communication group, many sellers are also worried about the decline in sales.

▲ The picture comes from the seller communication group

Faced with the sudden drop in orders on Christmas Eve, sellers have different opinions and are in a slightly bitter mood.

"I feel like mini stores don't have a lot of sales before the holidays. Now it's too hard for Lin Dan. I don't know if I'm the only one who feels this way."

“Bang, the peak season is gone? The happiness is gone???”

"I was caught off guard by the volume of orders. I don't know whether I should lower the price to save it, or whether lowering the price will not help."

“After seeing the sales, I’m packing up and getting ready to run!!!”

Complaints aside, let's get back to the point. The decline in orders is actually a microcosm of the development of cross-border e-commerce under the background of the epidemic. So why did this large-scale decline in orders occur? Let's analyze it below.

1. Poor logistics

The recent cross-border logistics situation can be described as terrible. In the United States, the snowstorm caused logistics delays, and all three package delivery services in the United States were affected; on the other hand, the UK was locked down, and the transportation capacity was seriously insufficient. Express deliveries piled up like a mountain, and there were long queues of trucks on the highway; at the same time, it was reported that an Amazon distribution center in Germany had suspended operations due to the new crown epidemic.

"Congestion, warehouse explosion, and delays" have become the biggest characteristics of logistics and transportation during this year's peak season, and the continuous accidents of express delivery have brought challenges to sellers' sales and after-sales service. Today, a seller sent a screenshot, which reads: Due to the epidemic, the lack of labor has delayed the storage of cabinets...

▲ The picture comes from the seller communication group

Shipping quantity restrictions, delivery delays, and FBA warehouse overflows have become obstacles to sellers’ orders. Against such a poor logistics background, the decline in orders during this Christmas peak season has become traceable.

2. Foreign epidemic factors

This year is about to end, but the epidemic situation abroad is getting worse and worse, and the daily growth rate of confirmed cases and new cases is staggering.

Since the beginning of winter, many countries have entered the second wave of the epidemic and have implemented measures such as blockades and closures to curb the spread of the epidemic. Recently, due to the spread of the new coronavirus variant, some parts of the UK entered a level 4 lockdown, and then nearly 30 countries announced a flight ban on the UK.

From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, the duration of this "anti-epidemic" campaign, the scope of its impact, and the economic losses were beyond our imagination.

After many twists and turns, the purchasing power of foreign people has also been affected to a certain extent. Coupled with uncertainties such as logistics delays and riots, sellers have also experienced a lot of "order cuts" this year. The decline in sales on Christmas Eve is also inseparable from the escalating epidemic abroad.

According to a report from LendingTree, buyers may buy more goods at the last minute of Christmas, and the number of consumers who buy goods near the end of Christmas will far exceed the number of consumers who buy early. Many consumers say they have procrastination, and about one-third of consumers decide to shop in the "last 11 hours."

Seeing this, many sellers have rekindled their fighting spirit. So sellers should not be too discouraged, relax their minds, and maybe they will make a comeback in the last few hours.

Finally, I would like to offer my sincere blessings to all sellers. I wish you a happy Christmas Eve, peace and happiness, and booming sales every year~

Today's comment area is open for a long time. If you have anything to say, feel free to express it. I hope all sellers can find warmth here~