Deistra, a company that sells clothing accessories on the Pigu.lt Marketplace (Pigu.lt is part of PHH Group), has seen its sales jump almost by three times over the last year. Among the reasons for the success is the expansion of sales to foreign markets, which Pigu.lt has opened to its sellers.
The expansion was not delayed
"By not postponing our future expansion into Estonia, Latvia and Finland, we have secured an even greater flow of customers here, which has generated sales growth," says Deividas Stravinskas, CEO of company Deistra.
He says that the company, which was selling summer hats on its website until 2022, joined Pigu.lt because of the huge amount of visitors traffic generated by this e-commerce platform.
"After expanding our product range, we had a goal to expand and reach even more customers in different countries. Thus, the Pigu.lt Marketplace (link: https://phhgroup.eu/) was the perfect choice for expansion," says D. Stravinskas.
Today, the company's biggest sales are still in Lithuania, where around 45% of the company's products are purchased. In Latvia, Deistra's sales are 24%, in Estonia 21% and in Finland 10%.
Expands assortment
"Having started on the Pigu.lt e-commerce platform with the sale of clothing accessories, Deistra now offers as many as 100 different categories of products to customers of the Marketplace. The company's assortment today includes almost 3,000 active products — it is approximately 5 times more than at the time of launch.
The CEO points out that the company's most popular products currently belong to the clothing accessories category. These include men's wallets, men's and women's handbags, backpacks and belts.
"It is true that we are constantly monitoring how products in our other categories are catching up with the most successful products in terms of sales," says Mr. Stravinskas.
Finland stands out
He points out that the most popular products vary from country to country. In the Baltic countries — Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — they are similar, but in Finland, shoppers prefer different products.
"In Finland, the most popular products are not only clothing accessories but also bathroom accessories and travel goods. We notice that Finns are more likely to choose more expensive products than customers in other countries," says Deividas.
According to him, the company's expansion into other countries has been influenced not only by a higher flow of customers but also by curiosity. "We wanted to test the range, to find out about buying habits in different countries. The most surprising thing was the average basket of Finnish customers, which is much bigger than in other countries. Here, shoppers are really more demanding when it comes to the quality of goods", says D. Stravinskas.
Focus on the quality
Deistra tries to stand out from other Pigu.lt sellers by finding products that are not yet available on the Marketplace. "We try to be the first among our competitors to offer one product or another," says the Deividas.
According to him, the success of sales is also determined by the quality of product presentation, high-quality photos, descriptions, prices and speed of delivery. These are the most important aspects that customers care about.
"We are constantly looking for a balance between quantity and quality. In many cases, it is better to provide fewer products of high quality that will be bought, rather than to offer thousands of products with poor descriptions, photos and unattractive prices," says Stravinskas.
The advantage of Fulfillment by Pigu
According to the CEO, Deistra's sales volumes have been boosted to a new level by the Fulfillment by Pigu service provided by Marketplace. "We have been using the service since 2022 and it is the most proven tool that has led to our sales jump. Last year, 70% of all our orders were delivered through Fulfillment by Pigu," says Stravinskas.
According to him, speed of delivery is very important for many customers and this service significantly shortens the logistics path to customers, allowing same-day pick-up.
"If a product is needed here and now, there is a good chance that the customer will choose a product from Fulfillment by Pigu, even at a higher price. However, it is important to assess the future costs of the product to be stocked and only place best-selling products that move quickly in Fulfillment by Pigu," the manager advises.
He would be happy to recommend this service to other retailers. "It boosts sales and gives more time to the seller — there is no need to worry about packing or storing goods," says Stravinskas.
Offers to try out new tools and services
Deistra CEO also has advice for newcomers to e-commerce. "I would recommend for new sellers look into the needs of their customers, find out what they want and what prices are optimal. It's also worth keeping an eye on the best-selling products in the desired category. I would also suggest trying out all the tools and services offered by the Pigu.lt Marketplace," advises Stravinskas.
He believes that it is worthwhile for every seller to pay attention to the speed of delivery and answer a few more important questions. "Are you sure you will deliver the product at the speed you specify? Is the pricing properly calculated, and are all the costs included? Does the product really match the description and photos?", the CEO points out.
