eBay Korea has announced its top 10 online export categories for 2014, based on sales growth and number of items exported through eBay.
Cosmetics was the top-ranking category for cross-border trade (CBT), closely followed by mobile devices and smart watches, car parts, computer components, industrial goods, fashion and accessories, household and kitchen goods, camera goods, hobby items and collectibles.
Some fascinating, rapidly changing trends have emerged. The sale of industrial goods, including healthcare devices, grew by 84 percent compared to the previous year, with a significant increase in B2B items such as generators, science experiment products and black box batteries.
Meanwhile Kidult goods, which include figures and remote-control toys, saw growth under the new hobby items category. Trade in model toys was at its highest in Italy and Australia, while K-Pop memorabilia proved popular in Asia Pacific and the U.K.
Cosmetics, eBay Korea’s strongest export category, recorded impressive sales in Southeast Asian countries and Taiwan, while data shows that Brazilians and South Americans clearly love Korea’s skin-care masks and snail creams. Wearable devices drove a surge in mobile category purchases, resulting in the highest sales growth rate year-on-year.
Song Seung-hwan, CBT Department Head, believes that eBay’s support in developing new Korean sellers through its professional online export system has been key. “As the number of small and medium-sized companies who want to trade globally increases, we’ll make further efforts to support them,” he said.
eBay Korea is now the only Korean distribution company operating a formal CBT program that supports exports to more than 200 countries. eBay’s CBT offering continues to provide a valuable opportunity for small and medium-sized merchants to go global.