In early December, the lighting category on TikTok's US platform once again attracted attention in the cross-border e-commerce community. Data shows that from December 1st to 14th, TikTok's GMV in the US exceeded $1.2 billion. Outdoor and automotive lighting performed particularly well. A car emergency light launched by the brand BougeRV on November 29th sold 6,144 units by December 14th, achieving a GMV of $201,200 (approximately 1.41 million RMB). Related influencer promotional videos garnered nearly 8.3 million views, becoming a short-term bestseller.
This case is not accidental, but rather a microcosm of the continued growth of the lighting category in the US market.
The Demand Foundation for Lighting Products in the US Market
From an overall market perspective, lighting products have maintained steady growth globally. Multiple industry research institutions point out that the global lighting market is being driven by energy-saving demands, increased smart home penetration, and diversified consumption scenarios. As a mature consumer market, the US has particularly strong demand for niche segments such as outdoor lighting, emergency lighting, and ambient lighting.
Especially around holidays, lighting products often experience a surge in sales. With the Christmas season approaching, products such as home decorative lights, camping lights, and car emergency lights are not only practical but also easily trigger impulse purchases through content platforms. This is a key reason for the recent surge in the lighting category on TikTok in the US.
TikTok Drives Rapid Growth in the Lighting Category
Unlike traditional e-commerce platforms, TikTok's content-driven mechanism rapidly amplifies the "usage scenarios" of lighting products. Features such as high brightness, magnetic design, and multi-scene switching are visually demonstrated in short videos, making it easier to encourage users to place orders.
However, for cross-border sellers, the surge in lighting products does not mean ease. The lighting category involves both general goods and pure electrical appliances, placing higher demands on warehousing compliance, delivery timeliness, and inventory management. If fulfillment capabilities cannot keep up with the pace of content-driven growth, the increase in orders may instead lead to negative reviews and return pressure.
The Real Challenges Faced by Lighting Sellers
In actual operation, cross-border sellers of lighting products generally encounter several problems:
First, order fluctuations are significant, with high demands on warehouse processing capacity during periods of explosive growth in content sales.
Second, product attributes are diverse, including both general merchandise and pure electrical products, requiring clear warehousing and shipping qualifications.
Third, the platform's fast-paced nature means that delayed shipments can negatively impact account and product listing performance.
Therefore, having a stable and responsive US overseas warehouse has become a crucial foundation for lighting sellers to handle high-volume products.
U-Speed's Overall US Overseas Warehouse Layout
U-Speed has established two major overseas warehouses in the US, one in the East Coast and one in the West Coast, covering major consumer areas and accommodating the shipping needs of different platforms. U-Speed is also an officially certified semi-managed warehouse by SHEIN, supporting TEMU semi-managed and TikTok shipping models.
Regarding product attributes, U-Speed's US overseas warehouses support general merchandise, pure electrical products, and cosmetics, with particular support for lighting products, meeting sellers' compliant warehousing needs across different platforms.
Warehouse Capabilities and System Support
In terms of basic configuration, U-Speed's US overseas warehouse covers approximately 20,000 square meters and is equipped with light and heavy-duty shelving, forklifts, a WMS warehouse management system, PDA devices, electronic scales, and a comprehensive fire safety and 24-hour monitoring system, enabling it to handle large-volume orders.
Operationally, its US overseas warehouse can handle up to 100,000 parcels per day, suitable for handling peak order periods during promotional events or content releases. Its dropshipping system is integrated with platforms such as TEMU, TikTok, SHEIN, and AE, supporting platform order pushes with a relatively simplified operation process.
Multi-team Collaboration Enhances Overall Stability
In terms of service, U-Speed employs a dual-team collaboration model, with a domestic team responsible for overall planning and coordination, while the overseas warehouse team handles actual operations, enabling rapid response to issues at each logistics node in case of emergencies.
Its proprietary WMS system supports multi-platform API integration, enabling real-time order synchronization and clear inventory and inbound/outbound data. This helps sellers better manage inventory in categories like lighting, which have many SKUs and high turnover rates.
Returns, Exchanges, Replenishment, and Resale Support
Lighting products also have return and exchange needs in the US market. U-Speed's US overseas warehouse supports return, exchange, and replenishment services and provides efficient relabeling capabilities, helping sellers complete resales as much as possible while complying with regulations and reducing inventory losses.
The explosive sales of emergency lights on TikTok in the US further confirm the potential of the lighting category in the US market. However, in the content-driven cross-border model, what truly determines whether a seller can "capture the traffic" is often not the front-end product selection, but the back-end fulfillment capability.
With the continued popularity of the lighting category, choosing a US overseas warehouse that supports multiple platforms, has pure electric warehousing capabilities, and stable processing efficiency has become an indispensable part of cross-border sellers' scaling-up process.
