Thoughts on creating popular e-commerce products

In June 2020, I came to Shenzhen and started to build an e-commerce private domain system for the China business of a North American women's clothing brand. In the process of communicating with peers in the private domain and senior e-commerce friends, my understanding of the e-commerce industry has gradually become clearer. So I will share my true feelings about the e-commerce industry in the past year in a serialized way. The name is: Xiaofan's E-commerce Journey.

A question: Why do e-commerce companies want to create hot products?

I can think of several reasons: First, hot-selling products can create profits for the company. We all know the scale effect, so the large-scale sales of hot-selling products can force the supply chain to lower costs, thereby creating profits for the company;

The second is to attract new customers to the store through hot products. New customers have concerns about the products, and hot products have withstood the test of the market and are the most suitable for new customers to place orders;

The third is that hot-selling products can increase the overall weight of the store and attract more free traffic.

So is there a rule to follow when creating a hit product?

Since joining the e-commerce company in June last year, I have also participated in the launch and promotion of many products. During this period, the store has seen an endless stream of hot-selling products.

I think I should summarize from my own experience how to scientifically create a hit product. Of course, I am still a primary school student on the road of e-commerce, so I will output articles on how to create hot products in the form of special topics. When I have the latest experiences and cases, I will also publish them on the official account at the same time.

From the perspective of the life cycle of a product, we can summarize it into several periods: new product launch period, promotion period, explosive period, and decline period.

New Issue

As the name suggests, the new product launch period is when new products are launched in the store. Generally, the main purpose of this stage is to test customers' acceptance of product styles.

At this stage, we will mainly focus on the data of several time nodes of the products, namely the first day, the third day, and the seventh day of the new product launch.

The data observed are mainly conversion rate and add-to-cart rate. The conversion rate, as the name suggests, is the final number of store orders divided by the number of people who browsed the product. The add-to-cart rate is a unique indicator of e-commerce. Add-to-cart means adding items to the shopping cart. Generally, we believe that the user's add-to-cart action is an obvious conversion indicator, so it will be used as a reference data.

First day of new product

On the first day of a new product launch, we can draw some decision-making references by observing the data. For example, if the number of visitors to a certain product is not enough, we need to find the operation to increase the promotion budget for that product in a timely manner to increase the number of visits to the link. If a product has a high add-to-cart rate but a low conversion rate, then you know that the product itself is attractive, but users did not buy it most likely because of the price factor. In this case, you can make targeted price adjustments at a targeted time and boost product sales by adjusting the price on the first day of the new product launch.

If the product's add-to-cart and conversion data are ideal, then inform the operation department in time to increase the promotion budget test. Because if the conversion rate can be maintained at a high level, it means that the more visitors we give to the link, the more transactions we can make, effectively driving product sales.

The third day of new release

On the third day of the new product launch, our main focus is on whether the strategies implemented on the first day of the new product launch have produced results.

For example, will lowering the price of a product that has not converted sales lead to conversions? For a product with a high conversion rate, is there any change in conversion rate after increasing the promotion efforts?

Because one day's data cannot objectively reflect the performance of the product, it is more important to observe the data and follow up the strategy in a timely manner.

Next is the decision-making on the seventh day of the new product

After 7 days of new products, we still mainly observe the following aspects to help us make the following decisions:

1. Whether it is possible to ensure the conversion of products, convert new models into new main models, and provide greater support in promotion efforts

2. For products with low add-to-cart rate and conversion rate, if there is still no obvious data fluctuation after adjustment within 7 days of new launch, you can consider removing the product from the shelves.

3. For products with average add-to-cart rate and conversion rate, you can continue to sell them by linking them, but we will not provide more resource support for promotion.

Promotion Period

After the new product launch period ends, the products enter the daily promotion period, which mainly relies on through-train promotion and super recommendation promotion.

So how can we quickly screen out the right models and make key recommendations in this area?

Here I summarize several core requirements for a product to become a hit:

1. Supply: Consider whether the product can be in long-term stable supply.

2. Process: Avoid choosing products with complex production processes that lead to long production times

3. Quality: The fabric and workmanship of the product itself must be up to standard. Only by having good products can we improve the cost performance, attract more customers, and thus create a hit product.

4. Seasonality: Creating a hit product takes time, including a cultivation period and a testing period, so seasonality means being ahead of the market and preparing for the next season.

5. Pricing: Hot-selling products can strengthen and amplify customers’ impulse buying habits, making them feel that the price is worth it, thus accelerating order placement and transaction behavior.

6. Traffic: Becoming a hit product is bound to attract huge traffic. No matter what kind of promotion is used, it is to attract more traffic and effectively convert it into transaction volume. The distribution of these traffic is related to the quality of the product. If more people buy it, it is naturally a good product.

After meeting the above six requirements, we will conduct data testing on the qualified products, which is divided into the following aspects:

1. Click-through rate: This indicator can be used to see the attractiveness of product images and prices to customers.

2. Add-to-cart rate: This indicates that the product has the potential to be a hit

3. Conversion rate: The core of a hit product is transaction, so it is necessary to pay attention to whether the traffic introduced can bring enough transactions.

4. Daily sales: This indicates that the product has the potential to be a hit

5. Monthly sales: The monthly sales range indicates that this product has the potential to become a hit.

OK, now we need to collect data on the products in each category in the store and calculate the data under the store’s categories as a reference for data after new products are launched.

Based on product data indicators, we evaluate whether a product has the potential to become a hit. If some indicators cannot be achieved, where is the problem? Find the problem and optimize it.

If the click-through rate is low and the conversion rate is high, we need to optimize the main picture.

If the conversion rate is high but the number of visitors is low, we need to increase the promotion budget and bid, and then see whether the conversion rate is stable after the number of visitors increases.

If the number of visitors is high but the conversion rate is low, we need to optimize the comments on the product details page (do a buyer show) and develop a plan for the product in the event.

If the add-to-cart rate is high but the conversion rate is low, we need to see whether the price should be adjusted or develop a separate promotion plan.

Optimize the corresponding problems for products that have not achieved target data, so as to create hot-selling products.

The above is my summary of how to create a hit product. You are also welcome to leave a message to communicate. This is Xiaofan’s e-commerce operation journey. See you next time!

Author: Adult Xiaofan

Author: Adult Xiaofan (id: xiaofan18s)