At the Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, Wu Xiangjuan, who has been in the refrigerator magnet business for more than 20 years, was busier than ever during this year's National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in early October.
"To capture the holiday market, we started offering some of our original designs in physical stores, and daily sales exceeded 5,000 units," Wu said. During the holiday, hundreds of refrigerator magnet enthusiasts from across China visited her shop each day.
The Yiwu International Trade Market is one of the country's largest production and sales hubs for refrigerator magnets. According to data from Chinagoods, the official website of Yiwu China Commodities City, online searches for refrigerator magnets have climbed steadily, with orders increasing 2.3-fold and transaction values doubling over the past two years.
Since early October, over 1 million magnets have been shipped daily from Yiwu to customers around the world.
Even after the holiday, demand shows no sign of slowing.
"Clients began placing orders for these culture and tourism-themed magnets as early as late August, with 40,000 to 50,000 units ordered to date and more orders still coming in," Wu said. Despite operating at full capacity, her factory struggles to meet the soaring demand.
The industry's rapid growth has prompted Yiwu's refrigerator magnet producers and retailers to adopt new technologies and business models to boost efficiency and creativity.
"With the falling snow effect, you can instantly feel the romance of winter," said Zhao Jinde, a shop owner. He and a designer were demonstrating an AI tool to create a snow-themed magnet design. Within 10 minutes, they generated a 3D rendering of a rotating crystal-and-wood magnet with a snowfall effect.
Zhao has also trained his staff in video production and begun using the "World Yiwu" AI model to translate Chinese content into multiple languages for targeted global marketing.
"From design to promotion, AI has helped us cut costs and improve efficiency at every critical stage," he said.
Fierce market competition is driving businesses to keep innovating. According to Li Hongsong, secretary-general of the Yiwu China Small Commodities Market Arts & Crafts Industry Chamber of Commerce, merchants launch hundreds to over 1,000 new products annually, and designs that fail to capture attention are swiftly phased out.
"Each order and new design deepens our understanding of customer needs and market trends. That process pushes us to upgrade our production lines and refine our craftsmanship," Li said.
(Source: People's Daily)