The hidden dangers and opportunities in the retail market behind the US-China trade war

What impact will the trade war have on the retail markets of China and the United States? This trade war has both a crisis and an opportunity for the retail industry. Under the influence of the trade war, how do cross-border trade and brand merchants take the next step? Is it a way to cross the river by feeling the stones or developing new markets? We should consider how to build the whole industrial chain from infrastructure to manufacturing, procurement, market to sales.

1、The US market is difficult to transfer in the short term.​

The continued escalation of trade war has seriously affected the economy of China and the United States. The increase in import tariffs has led many American companies to move the market to other countries. If American enterprises want to transfer from the Chinese market, it will be a large part of the cost for the American government and enterprises, and the retail industry and consumers in the United States will bear the brunt. Material facilities and supply chain maturity purchased by American enterprises in other countries will affect the overall pattern of the United States. At least, in the next few years, the United States will be not to abandon the Chinese market that they both love and hate.

The Association of American Retail Industry Leaders expressed similar views in an open letter to President Trump recently. More than 41% of clothing, 72% of footwear and 84% of travel goods are made in China, the letter said. "Tariffs on these products will be levied on every American."

At the same time, in order to promote consumer consumption, American businesses are bound to increase the investment of retail stores, enhance store layout / visual sensory experience and a large number of functional display stands to promote sales. With the double cost of tariffs and store experience increasing, for the United States, the U.S. government does so. In the end, it is paid by American consumers.

China is at the middle and low end of the value chain of global trade, and the manufacturing, processing and assembling tasks undertaken by China are irreplaceable by the United States. In addition, because of the export of products from China, the trade surplus has been recorded in China and its profits are in the United States. Therefore, the transfer of the US market depends on the United States itself; it depends on whether the Trump administration still insists on raising the flag; it depends on whether the various industries of American companies allow them to abandon China and choose other markets.

For the United States, China is still an indispensable market for the United States at this stage. At least in some areas, it is impossible to withdraw in a short period of time. For example, the daily necessities mentioned in the article, electronic products and the attached warehouse and retail display shelf accessories and other customized products.

2、China's retail industry and its consumers

Due to export difficulties, Chinese enterprises will focus on domestic vision. But China has the largest consumer demand market in the world. In China, what are the current consumers thinking? What can domestic retailers do? How to develop a corporate brand? Where is the opportunity?

This generation of consumers is pursuing fashion, personality, design, and temperature; they are eager to resonate emotionally, they chase their own personality; they hope to enjoy the present. Therefore, for retail enterprises, the mainstream of future design will not only be limited to the store environment, services, discounts and other factors, but also in the promotion of merchandise display, consumer experience and so on. For example, food retailing, consumers are more concerned about health, the company can help customers improve their health by recommending appropriate and appropriate week recipes based on the customer's accurate portraits and customized display stands.

Therefore, compared with the past, the traditional retail stores have been unable to meet the needs of consumers, to create a differentiated operation, to create a better visual and shopping experience for consumers in the shopping process is being recognized by more and more retailers. We also see that both national retailers and regional retailers are investing a lot of money to upgrade and renovate their stores and display shelves, hoping to make their stores more distinctive and to capture consumers more effectively.

According to statistics, in the next few years, with the continuous promotion of retail and other industries as well as new industries, the global exhibition shelf market will maintain a steady growth trend, and the global exhibition shelf market is expected to reach 17.94 billion US dollars by 2022.

Then, in the future, if Chinese retailers and brands want to enhance their attractiveness, they should do is to enhance the consumer experience, and combine the Internet big data, differential display shelves and retail stores to build a more user-friendly shopping scenario.

In addition, it is also a means to enhance attractiveness to link purely shopping behavior with culture and the Internet. Reasonable integration of traditional concepts of consumption experience and cultural experience, from the overall design of the perfect integration of greening and culture and art. Let consumers not only regard it as a shopping place, but also as a work of art, which can enhance the consumer experience, and thus encourage them to stay and consume. And the fragmentation of a single shopping experience through cultural links to increase the integrity of shopping, which can also increase the number of returnees, leaving a more difficult impression in the hearts of consumers.

At the same time, seize the outlet of the Internet, integrate the Internet and high-tech into the shopping process, use science and technology to better match a wide range of categories with the diversified needs of consumers, from traditional store shopping to experience services, use science and technology to increase interaction, so as to make shopping experience more three-dimensional and diversified.

The trade war has caused different damage to the retail markets of both countries. However, it is also an opportunity for self-improvement. Under the harsh environment, enterprises need to strengthen their internal capabilities and lay a good foundation for dealing with all kinds of difficulties. How big things can be done if we can bear much impact.