8 import tips for Black Friday

In recent years, Black Friday has become one of the main dates for Brazilian retailers. In 2024, the most anticipated Friday will be November 29 and promises to have the best offers of the year to boost e-commerce revenues.

Taking into account only the four main days of offer - from Thursday to Sunday -, the consultancy firm Neotrust projects an increase of 9.1% in online retail revenues. The consultancy predicts that categories such as appliances, fashion and beauty should be highlighted on Black Friday. Therefore, product planning and availability must already be on sellers' radar.

Brazil currently has more than 1.9 million virtual stores, according to a survey by Big Data Corp, and 73% of virtual stores in Brazil are family and small businesses. In 2023, sales in the sector reached R$ 185.7 billion and experts project significant advances for that year.

A reference in foreign trade and with a full range of solutions for companies, Ouribank prepared a list of tips to ensure good sales during the November holiday. Check out the following:

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1- Advance and planning

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Planning is the key to importing smoothly. Merchants should think 6 months in advance to achieve product availability and better conditions. But if your company hasn't finished shopping yet, there's still time. Research the most affordable origins and shipping to guarantee receipt and get organized for the next dates.

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2- Search for prices

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The difference in the price of the products can be significant and mean the difference between profit and loss in your business. Therefore, researching the values is fundamental. Alibaba, a B2B shopping portal, is an important ally in this search. Take the time to research and evaluate suppliers. With this market research, you will have good results when importing.

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3-Keep an eye on trends

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Some products that are in high demand for import from China are: smartphone accessories, wearable gadgets, drones, virtual reality devices. Analyze the demand of your consumers, but also try to offer products that are trending at the moment, as this may attract new buyers or even increase the average ticket. In addition, products with high demand tend to have more interesting values and can help increase profits.

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4-Cost simulation

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After researching the products of interest to them, the importer must simulate the costs, as the logistical values may make the purchase unfeasible. In addition, adjustments to the quantity may change the unit value. After all, the more you import, the lower the unit value per product. Generally, the products arrive in Brazil at twice the price, but this is an estimate, since bulkier products tend to pay more shipping. Taxation for imports into Brazil is based on the sum of the product + shipping.

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5- Escape the famous brands

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Many entrepreneurs imagine that importing products from famous brands is a good strategy, because they are already known to the consumer and rely on marketing on top of the product, but this is not necessarily the case. This makes it unfeasible for small importers or those who are starting to import.

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6-Keep an eye out for opportunities

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Even if there is no time to carry out the imports with a focus on Black Friday sales, the businessman can take advantage of the date to make good purchases for future dates. American sites are a good opportunity and offer relevant discounts in November, which may result in higher margins for items sold on dates such as Christmas, New Year and Carnival, for example.

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7- Exchange hedging

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The entrepreneur must take into account that the fluctuation of the exchange rate is a business certainty. One of the options to ensure performance is the exchange hedging, a tool created to protect companies from exchange rate fluctuations. With hedging, it is possible to fix future prices and help reduce risk in an efficient and secure way, in addition to reducing operating costs.

In practice, it works like this: imagine an entrepreneur who imports electronics and decides to buy a batch of calculators to resell the products in Brazil. At the time of intent to purchase, the exchange rate is R$ 5.10 and the agreed price is US$ 1 dollar per equipment. Following a plan, he will sell each calculator in Brazil for R$ 10 and will have a margin of R$ 4.90 to cover local costs and make a profit.

However, on the date of delivery of the calculators and payment, the exchange rate fluctuated to R$ 5.80. Immediately, the amount of the margin drops to R$ 4.20 and this could jeopardize the profitability of the business, considering all the costs of the operation. Precisely to avoid this type of unwanted surprise, there is an exchange hedging.

When importing products, it is possible to request that the exchange be locked on the chosen date. “The idea is for the customer to throw away that variable, which is the exchange rate, and worry about buying and selling their products,” says Bruno Foresti, foreign exchange superintendent at Ouribank.

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8- Financing for importation

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Numerous variables need to be analyzed by those who import goods into Brazil. In addition to the global macroeconomic issue, Brazilian entrepreneurs still need to deal with issues such as competitiveness, labor, taxes, and business strategy. For this reason, having tools that help when importing products is essential. One of them is Finimp (Import Financing), as its name suggests, it is a line of financing for imports in foreign currency.

It works as follows: after the shipment of the goods abroad, the exporter already receives the cash payment and the importer has the option of making the payment within 180 days to the chosen credit institution, through a receivables assignment agreement. At Ouribank there is a team specialized in understanding the needs of each business and helping with the import and receipt phases.

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