Amazon's order volume plummets! Sellers go home early for the Chinese New Year!

After entering January, sellers reported that the decline in orders has intensified! Sales volume is like riding an out-of-control roller coaster, and it has plummeted. Some people bluntly said that the decline exceeded 50%, which is simply breathtaking!

01 Plummeting order volume and skyrocketing return rate

In the past, after the peak season, a decline in order volume was acceptable, but this year’s rate of decline is so rapid that many sellers have expressed that it is outrageous!

“ This year is really weird! Although the order volume will drop after the peak season, it has never dropped to this extent!”

“Who is more miserable than me? I only made one order in 7 days .”

"Today's advertising is 30 US dollars, sales are 7.99 US dollars, and refunds are 40 US dollars. What kind of family is this? I lose 400 yuan a day to work. If I'm not charitable, who will be charitable?"

Judging from the feedback from sellers and operators, sales have plummeted since January, and sales after mid-January are even more pessimistic than in early January, and the situation is getting worse as time goes by!

According to reports, the amount of online returns during the global holiday season exceeded US$122 billion, a year-on-year surge of 28%.

Extreme weather is the culprit behind the plunge in orders. The recent snowstorms and wildfires in the United States have directly caused multiple Amazon FBA warehouses to shut down, causing delays in shipping and delivery.

As a result, order shipments are delayed, delivery time and goods quality are affected, consumers' shopping experience is greatly reduced, and the return rate soars. How can sales still be good under such circumstances?

02 The demand for emergency products has increased dramatically

The United States is in dire straits due to wildfires, heavy snow and ice, and people's enthusiasm for consumption has dropped rapidly.

According to Google Trends data on January 11, the search volume for "fireproof" directly reached a peak, and during this period, all emergency product-related items were in great demand, such as tents, emergency power supplies , lamps, etc.

During the post-disaster reconstruction phase, consumer demand in the Los Angeles area may change, and demand for some commodities will surge, such as household outerwear, daily necessities, and emergency supplies.

However, it is recommended that sellers do not follow the trend blindly and do not expect to reap a temporary wave of dividends. Perhaps by the time you have stocked up and send the goods, the popularity may have dropped, and you may end up with only a pile of unsaleable inventory.

03 Can’t hold on any longer! Cross-border travelers take a holiday early

They can’t sell at high prices, and they lose money if they sell at low prices. A large number of sellers are trapped in the dilemma of “unable to operate”. At present, a group of cross-border migrant workers have already returned home early to celebrate the New Year.

For example, a cross-border company’s holiday notice:

January 18 to February 6, 2025 (20 days), officially start work on February 7.

Looking back at 2024, many cross-border companies are under great pressure, with both revenue and profits declining, and platform operating costs and logistics costs increasing ! In order to reduce costs and increase efficiency by the end of the year, many companies have taken holidays early.

Coupled with the shrinking year-end bonuses and the loss of benefits, this has long become the "standard configuration" for many sellers.

Although the beginning of 2025 is not friendly, I still hope that sellers will persevere, make a summary of 2024, conduct refined operations, and find a breakthrough! And always pay attention to market changes and flexibly adjust strategies