Non-standard products and standard products

In the field of e-commerce, "standard products" and "non-standard products" are two core concepts, representing two different attributes of goods. Understanding these two types of goods is crucial for e-commerce operators, as they not only affect the choice of marketing methods, but are also directly related to refund rates and customer satisfaction. This article will explore in depth the differences between standard products and non-standard products, the strategic differences in e-commerce operations, and how to formulate appropriate operation plans based on product attributes.

Those who do e-commerce should all know the terms standard products and non-standard products. What is the difference between these two things? If you ask me, the biggest difference between them is the refund rate . The refund rate of standard products is lower, about 10~20%, while the refund rate of non-standard products is higher, about 30~50%.

You see that others have a monthly turnover of 100 million, but after deducting refunds, the actual sales may only be 10 million, haha. Unexpectedly, if you invest in e-commerce companies based on turnover, you will definitely fall into the trap.

The turnover of e-commerce companies is inflated by the refund rate, and the same is true for the turnover of platforms. Don’t be fooled by their GMV of hundreds of billions or even trillions of yuan. In fact, the refunds are tens of billions of yuan. What’s the point of fake data? Except for looking impressive and making more technical service fees, it is harmful and has no benefits.

After the complaints, let's talk about standard products and non-standard products. Since the goods are divided into standard products and non-standard products, it means that the products have two attributes. Since the products are divided into two attributes, there will be differences in the way of playing. Indeed, there is a big difference between the way of playing non-standard products and standard products on Pinduoduo .

1. Compare prices for standard products

Let's talk about standard products first. You all know that there is an activity called "3-person group" on the platform, which means that if a buyer wants to buy your product, he must invite 2 people to place an order before he can buy it. Why are buyers willing to invite 2 people to buy it? Because the activity price of this product is indeed attractive enough.

You have to know that as long as the benefits are given in place, buyers will do whatever you ask them to do . It’s nothing to recruit two people. If you say that you will give a Huawei phone to a thousand people, the buyers can get 10 phones from you.

Have you ever thought about this question: Why would buyers go to your product for this low-price promotion? My understanding is that it is because buyers know the value of your product. If your promotional price is lower than the daily value, that is, the cost-effectiveness is high, then buyers will naturally flock to it.

On the other hand, if you put a non-standard product, such as a new style of clothing, in a group of 3, the original price is 199, and now you invite 2 people to buy it, you can get it for 119.

Do you think buyers will try to attract customers? I just want to ask a question: do buyers think that the original price of your clothes is 199 and the promotional price is 119, which is a discount? Buyers may even think that your clothes were originally priced at 119, but you raised the selling price just for the promotion.

Why do you have this idea? Because this product has no value reference in the minds of buyers . Standard products have this value reference, so the price reduction of standard products is very effective in increasing the number of orders. Non-standard products do not have this value reference, so the price reduction of non-standard products has little effect on increasing the number of orders.

Why do platforms allow merchants to drive prices up to the limit, especially for department stores, which are all genuine standard products? Anyway, it is such a thing, there is no difference between buying from A and buying from B, it just depends on which one has the lower price.

From the platform's perspective, you, the merchant, are competing on price, while the platform is competing on price with other platforms. As long as the merchant's price is low enough, then in the platform competition, the low price can attract more buyers . As long as there are buyers, will there be any worry about a lack of merchants?

Second, non-standard products look at the style

There is a reason why the return rate of non-standard products is high, because it depends on the style . For example, when buying shoes, you will buy at least 2 sizes, try one pair, and return one pair, which is still good.

For example, I don’t buy clothes online anymore because I’ve returned them several times. The clothes look nothing like the pictures after I put them on. It could be that the model has good temperament and looks good in anything, or it could be that the pictures are overly beautified.

Anyway, the clothes that look good online are really hard to describe after I get them. So, I just buy clothes offline later. I try them on and buy them only if they fit. How good is that. I know how to get what I want quickly and efficiently, and I don't want to cause extra trouble for the merchants, so if I'm not sure, I won't place an order.

But some people may not care. Some people don't care whether it is troublesome to return the goods or not. They buy forty or fifty pieces at a time and try them one by one. If none of them are suitable, it's no problem. They can just return them all. Anyway, the return shipping fee is covered.

This operation makes the merchants suffer, but enriches the express delivery. Recently, a women's clothing store with annual sales of billions of yuan went bankrupt. Why did it go bankrupt? It was because of product returns.

If you ask me, what does this have to do with the buyers? Even if some buyers have poor quality, you knew that the return rate of women's clothing was high, but you still did this business. You did not realize the risks and eventually went bankrupt. It is your own problem. It has nothing to do with the low quality of the buyers and the indulgence of the platform, am I right?

Anyway , I won’t touch non-standard products, unless I’m purely playing with natural flow. My profit is high enough, the profit from selling one piece can cover the profit from selling 10 pieces , and there is no advertising expense. I can still barely do such a business.

3. How to deal with non-standard products and standard products

Since the main purpose of standard products is price comparison, the gameplay of standard products is much simpler. As long as you find the lowest cost source on the entire network, you can wait to make money. Because the selling price of this product and the number of orders have been written into the system.

If you say, I can't do this price, my cost is higher than this starting price, then what should I do, just quit the store . Everyone should understand the word "price comparison". Why do we need to compare prices? It shows that operating technology is no longer important. The system only looks at the price. If your product has no cost advantage and you still want to play this game, it is like wanting to drive a sports car when you have no money in your pocket. It can only come true in dreams.

As long as you find a low-priced source of standard products and put a competitive selling price on the shelves, it will take only a few minutes for orders to explode . You don’t have to worry about the spiral gameplay or the black search gameplay. Just spend 100 yuan on the through train, enter the pool, and wait for the orders to explode.

The gameplay of non-standard products is a little more complicated. Non-standard products have a wider range of customers than styles. If you want to get orders, you have to lay out more links and cover more people. Different links must have different materials. If you start a full-site promotion, you can rely on scene recommendations to get orders.

Non-standard products test product selection ability, and a good style is better than ten years of top-level operation technology. The style is fine, and after the data is stable, the order volume can be increased through activities. It is no problem to double the order volume once 584 is launched.

When we do e-commerce, we must remember not to use the idea of ​​selling standard products to sell non-standard products . If the idea is wrong, all efforts will be in vain. My suggestion is that if you are selling standard products, just sell standard products. Play this type of product thoroughly. Whether you are working or opening your own store, you can make a living with one trick.

For example, the gameplay of quickly burning 100 to pull out natural orders, you can try it with non-standard products. It is unreasonable to talk about the gameplay without considering the product.

4. Final

The boundary between standard products and non-standard products is actually not that clear. Shoes with large enough sales can also become standard products, and newly launched headphones also have the attributes of non-standard products.

Because the attributes of products are constantly changing, it is very difficult to choose the appropriate way to play according to the nature of the products. Therefore, e-commerce is indeed not as easy as you think. One reason is that it is very competitive, and the other is that you don’t know how to play.

Author: Tiger talks about operations;

Source: Tiger Talks Operations