Despite falling consumer spending worldwide, many international buyers plan to increase imports this year, particularly from China. Concerns over supplier stability and changing product requirements are driving up the frequency of buyer communication with suppliers, and a small group of major buyers remain in control of the vast majority of imports in developed markets such as the U.S. These and other findings are highlighted in the 2009 Importer Survey, completed this month by Global Sources.

"Close to 50% of surveyed buyers expect to maintain or increase their total import value in 2009," said Global Sources' COO, Craig Pepples. "We see a slight decrease in average price per item, and we know today's buyers require more flexibility in terms of order size. But China remains at the center of their sourcing plans, with 57% of surveyed buyers expecting to increase or maintain their total value of imports from China in 2009, as compared to 2008."

Among surveyed buyers:

- 26% say they will increase spending on imports in 2009;
- 20% expect to keep import spending flat; and
- 54% indicated they will spend less on imports.

Survey results also show that:

- 32% of buyers plan to increase total import volume in 2009;
- 18% will keep import volume flat; and
- 50% expect to decrease purchasing volume.

"Buyers indicated their biggest concern in 2009 is declining consumer spending (21%). This was followed by supplier-side concerns, including difficulty in finding quality suppliers (16%), increasing prices (15%), and concerns about supplier stability (15%)," said Pepples.

The survey also indicated that buyers are reviewing all their options and sourcing more cautiously to reduce risk.

Among surveyed buyers:

- 42% said they are making more inquiries to new and existing suppliers, as compared to 2008;
- 29% are making about the same number of inquiries;
- 29% are making fewer inquiries.

Buyers are also using a wide range of methods to find suppliers:

- 40% use sourcing websites and search engines;
- 39% attend trade shows and other face-to-face sourcing events;
- 16% use trade magazines;
- 5% use research reports.

Surveyed buyers also indicated that the most effective ways for suppliers to win orders are to improve product quality (18%), provide better prices (18%) and accept smaller order sizes (14%).

Pepples said: "As buyers change the way they source, suppliers must also change the way they operate to win orders.

"Buyers are submitting more inquiries than ever before, as indicated by the Survey. Metrics from Global Sources Online confirm this. Buyers sent about 18 million inquiries to suppliers in the fourth quarter of 2008, up 119% from the same period a year earlier.

"With buyers looking at more options for each purchase, suppliers must work harder to win the order. They must submit more competitive bids and lower minimum order requirements. Moreover, as more cautious buyers use a wider range of channels to find products, suppliers also need to promote themselves across more of these channels to get buyers' attention."

A small number of buyers control developed markets

"The 80/20 rule applies in many markets," said Pepples, citing a related study of the U.S. import market in 2008. "A small group of buyers control the vast majority of market share. This is good news for suppliers if they focus their promotion on influencing those critical buyers who control the market."

Key findings of the U.S. import market study include:

- the top 3,000 importers accounted for two-thirds of all imports into the U.S. by volume and value in 2008, according to U.S. Customs data;
- 60,000 importers account for 75% of all U.S. imports by both value and volume.

Pepples said: "This is the first-ever report giving such in-depth analysis of the U.S. buyer universe and it supports what we have been telling our suppliers all along. In today's challenging times, it is even more important for exporters not to waste time and energy influencing those without real buying power."