Every summer, the French e-commerce circle will usher in a "heat wave" - Soldes d'été summer promotion. This year is no exception. The 2025 summer promotion jointly hosted by Cdiscount and Octopia will kick off on June 25 and last until July 22. For cross-border sellers, this is not only a good time to clear inventory, but also a golden node for attracting new customers, increasing sales and site weight.
Is this summer promotion worth investing in? The answer is yes.
First look at the category support. This year's summer promotion covers a wide range, almost covering all shopping scenarios of French consumers in summer:
Garden tools, swimming pool supplies, outdoor equipment, seize the "family gathering + vacation" demand;
Electric fans, small appliances, 3C digital, are the first choice for indoor cooling and life upgrades;
Toys, maternal and child products, sports products, as well as stationery and backpacks in the back-to-school season are also within the scope of key support.
These categories themselves have strong seasonality, and the platform also specifically pointed out: "Products with competitive prices, Buybox shopping cart qualifications, and low dispute rates will receive the 'Promo - Price Reduction' label and have the opportunity to enjoy official key exposure resources."
In other words, the core of the competition for this promotion is no longer just "who is on the shelf", but "who is more solidly prepared".
To seize this wave of dividends, it is necessary not only to ensure that the product price is competitive and eligible for Buybox, but also to complete the promotion settings in advance. The platform clearly stated: Products with high dispute rates, not reaching the discount threshold, and irregular operations will be disqualified, and no complaints will be accepted.
Standing at the outlet of traffic, what preparations should sellers make?
In this context, how can cross-border sellers efficiently participate in this French summer carnival? The following strategies are worth focusing on:
1. Prepare and adjust warehouses in advance to avoid logistics risks
The summer promotion starts on June 25. Sellers need to complete stock preparation and warehouse adjustment before the end of May to ensure that the goods have arrived at the local warehouse or near the overseas warehouse to reduce the risk of missing the promotion period due to transportation delays.
At the same time, according to past experience, local distribution resources in France are tight during the summer promotion. It is recommended that sellers use logistics services with mature local fulfillment capabilities, or directly enter the local warehousing system to improve timeliness and experience.
2. Make a good product selection combination and accurately cover the hot-selling scenes
It is recommended that sellers select products around the four keywords of "cool + outdoor + family entertainment + back to school season". For example:
Garden water gun + portable swimming pool + parasol = outdoor parent-child combination
Electric fan + air cooler + dehumidifier = summer home best-selling combination
Smart watch + sports shoes + mountaineering backpack = outdoor sports suit
In addition, pay special attention to price strategy and product quality. The platform clearly requires that the dispute rate of promotional products in the past 60 days is less than 1%, which puts higher requirements on after-sales management.
3. Deploy return plans in advance to solve worries
As sales increase during the promotion, the number of returns will also increase. French consumers have extremely high requirements for after-sales experience. Once the handling is not timely or the response is slow, it is easy to cause bad reviews and account risks.
At this time, sellers need a stable and efficient local return warehouse support system.
U-Speed French return warehouse: Professional team, fast processing, support for full-link operation
U-Speed French return warehouse is located in Reims, France, only a 10-minute drive from Reims Airport. The warehouse area is 3,000 square meters, the maximum storage capacity is 600plt, the warehouse facilities are complete, the team members exceed 20 people, and the average daily processing volume exceeds 1,000 orders. The excellent Chinese team creates an environment for barrier-free communication in Chinese, which can bring customers a variety of operation requirements and storage methods, and the return time is about 2 to 5 days.
Speaking with data: Why is the French market worth deepening?
France is the third largest e-commerce market in Europe. In 2024, the total GMV of the Cdiscount platform reached 2.6 billion euros, and the number of active users exceeded 11 million. Consumers prefer localized services and high-quality after-sales service, and the platform also pays more and more attention to sellers' fulfillment and return experience.
With the support of local return warehouses such as U-Speed, Chinese sellers can build stronger brand reputation and customer stickiness in the fierce competition.
In the current environment of fluctuating international logistics costs and increasingly stringent platform policies, "marketing at the front end and stable performance at the back end" has become the standard idea for overseas sellers. Only when the return process is clear and controllable and the customer experience is in place, can the platform safely allocate traffic resources to you.
The 2025 French Summer Promotion is a cross-border outlet with both volume and sales. For sellers, this is not only a good opportunity to clear inventory and rush orders, but also a key battle to establish the brand and improve user experience. Now plan the promotion, product selection, logistics and return links, so that you can be one step ahead and win steadily in the next French summer shopping season.
