China Gift Market Trends by Janey Yang

In recent years, a great number of overseas orders of craftwork and gifts have been transferred to China, mainly from the European and USA general merchandise industry, multinational chain supermarkets, and professional distributors, etc.

Meanwhile, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the World Expo Shanghai 2010 will also bring great business opportunities to the craftwork and gifts industry. Facing such a large market potential, the most urgent issue for enterprises to tackle at present is how to make full use of two major resources and markets at home and abroad and complete technology innovations and promote the upgrading of enterprises.

Popular Gift Ideas (Buying Trends)

Gifts for Family Decoration Craftwork is an important composition of family interior soft-environment design, reflecting peoples' temperament and interests. Practicality and nice design are two important factors people considered when choosing home gifts.

Promotion Gifts - Complement Traditional Marketing Methods The value of promotional gifts in today's competitive marketplace can't be underestimated. Many businesses nowadays turn to promotional gifts to help them enhance their brand awareness, improve customer loyalty and increase sales. Holiday Gift: Nurture Your Relationship Despite traditional holiday seasons (Spring Holiday, Christmas, Valentines Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day...), we obviously can't forget to mention other important occasions such as Wedding, Anniversary, Birthday, or Graduation day. These special occasions bring us together, creating a chance for our relationships to grow. Gift giving in this case is indispensable to enhance the feelings or atmosphere. Personalized and engraved unique gifts especially make distinguished and memorable presents.

Fashion Jewelry Gifts - a Timeless Favorite In times of rapid change, constants lend comfort to our lives. Since ancient times, jewelry has been one of the most popular gifts to give and to receive, and it still ranks among the top gifts as a universal, particularly pearls and birthstones. Jewelry ranks just beneath flowers as the gift that says "I love you," and it ranks just above flowers as a gift to convey that the recipient is someone special. A gift of jewelry delights the recipient and evokes a genuine smile. Birthstones, among various choices, are very popular with Its Culture-added Value. Almost everyone appreciates a birthstone, and it shows that you actually put some thought into the gift. Many people believe that wearing their birthstone protects them and brings them good luck.

Yiwu City: a Terrific Destination for Your Gift-purchasing Plan in China

China Yiwu is the largest mart for petty commodities. Currently, Yiwu has the largest wholesaling market around the world. The business area of the market covers 1,500,000 square meters, gathering 320,000 kinds of commodities from all over the country with a daily customer flow of more than 200,000 person-times, and the daily output of commodities up to nearly ten thousand tons. Up to now, more than 300 overseas trading offices and 10,000 foreign purchasers have resided in Yiwu.

Notable Domestic and International Gift Fairs

International Gifts & Home Decor Trade Fair The largest fair of its kind in East China, was held in Shanghai every year, which can both serve the industry and add luster to life, creating a real buzz in Shanghai Mart.

Shenzhen International Toys & Gifts Fair This event is an ideal platform for sourcing from China. Its exhibitors include top ranking suppliers of products from their respective categories, as well as leading brand names who are looking for distributors. Many of these exhibitors are already leading suppliers in the China market, and they have expressed keen interest in developing business overseas.

Sands Expo Center -- The ASD/AMD Las Vegas Gift Expo ASD/AMD Trade Shows have been at the top of the gift, jewelry, variety and discount industries'' annual market calendar since 1961. Dollar for dollar ASD/AMD Trade Shows are the most cost-effective and convenient way to get buyers and sellers together in a sales and profits-oriented marketplace.

E-business Web Choice - Finding Authentic Suppliers in China If you happen to be a buyer, looking for appropriate China Supplier partners. Would you like to get comprehensive information, such as company business registration condition, actual production, trade, R & D abilities and quality management system, of potential partners quickly? Do you hope that this information is from an impartial authoritative organization like SGS? If you are looking for such suppliers and need such important business information, please choose www.Made-in-China.com. Made-in-China.com has already become a leading B2B portal especially in assisting global buyers and Chinese manufacturers to make contact and conduct international trade.

Challenges Facing the China GiftIndustry and What's On Trend

Design Capability and Awareness as the Core:

China gift industry desires for professional and creative designers. Competition enhances design capability in a positive way. To upgrade their design capability, many companies employ experienced designers. Some suppliers even recruit skilled artists from Japan and the US. They then form teams who will work closely with clients in new product development.

Brilliant designer teams stay abreast of trends and always scout for new ideas or options when going to some relevant events or shows. Gift magazines and Internet sites are used as references as well. Aside from these, some suppliers hire fresh graduates from design schools. This allows them to go beyond the conventional and develop innovative designs for niche markets.

Brand Name Promotion

Some experts pointed out that many Chinese gift enterprises are small in size and are not competitive on the market due to lack of awareness of intellectual property rights and independently-developed brand name.

Companies that do not have any awareness in promoting their brands cannot survive. Companies are now getting to that awareness. Brand stands for everything - low price, convenience of purchase, emotional attachment, and for performance and quality. As far as allocation of funds (for brand promotion) is concerned, it should be carried out on a sustainable basis. It has to be part of the overall budgetary allocation of the company. Creating Value, Adding Value and Maintaining Value

Whether it is Culture Value added or Technology Value added, they would undoubtedly make your gifts more competitive. Many traditional Chinese gifts maker should strive for new technology to bring novelty to their products and maintain freshness. Meanwhile, we can't ignore the culture value of the gifts or even an enterprise. For instance, "Swarovski" Crystal are paying much attention and funds in its culture value promotion (crystal history, magic function etc.), it's the culture connotation that contributes much to its overall success, attracting people to buy it and enjoy it.

Know the Psychologic Profile of The Target Market

The psychologic profile of gift consumers reveals their different drives and motivations in purchasing gifts. How can gifts marketers and retailers better understand the hearts and minds of their consumers and use that insight to capture a greater share of the consumers' gifting budget? These are questions every gift enterprise should investigate into seriously. For the foreign gift trade business in china, it would be favorable for the profits and markets to grow, for example, if the manufacturers could produce gifts that taking in more western flavor, religious imply, personalized demand, or of high quality level.

Environmental Friendly - Go Green

The environment is increasingly on consumers' radar screens, according to many surveys. "Eco-friendly" products are more popular in holiday season than in the past. Wrapping stuff like plastic bags are not so welcome. This shopping intention was consistent across gender, age and income groups based on many survey statistics.

About the Author

A lady keen on the market infomation concerning products made in china. To find better china suppliers, please take a look at www.Made-in-China.com