GoodsFox Daily Insights – November 6, 2025: Halloween Returns Surge: Seasonal Products See a 30% Return Spike on Amazon
- Crocs Goes Viral on TikTok Shop US, GMV Surpasses $50M
- Vietnam’s E-Commerce Landscape Shifts
- Japan Plans to Remove Personal Import Tax Reductions
- Amazon Halloween Product Returns Surge Over 30%
- Recommerce Continues to Grow at 10%+ Annually
1. Crocs Goes Viral on TikTok Shop US, GMV Surpasses $50M
Crocs has achieved a major breakout on TikTok Shop US. As of November 2, total GMV exceeded $50.32M, with over 1.09M units sold. Within the past month alone, estimated sales reached $7.4M. The plush-lined clog became a standout item, generating $2.7M in GMV and selling out for over a month.
The brand’s turnaround from “uncool footwear” to a Gen Z favorite was driven largely by creator commerce. About 86% of sales came from influencers. A long-tail creator, @jays_ttshop, generated nearly $1.5M GMV through 5 videos and 21 livestreams. Family lifestyle creator @Alycia drove $700K in sales from a single 8-second video.
2. Vietnam’s E-Commerce Landscape Shifts as TikTok Shop Grows 69%
Vietnam’s e-commerce market is undergoing fast transformation. Data from Metric.vn shows TikTok Shop’s GMV surged 69% year-over-year in Q3 2025, pushing its market share to 41%. The gap with Shopee has narrowed to just 15 percentage points.
Shopee remains the leader but showed minimal growth at only 4%. TikTok Shop gained traction by combining entertainment and shopping, capturing young consumers’ fragmented browsing habits. Its share grew from 35% in Q1 to 41%, while Shopee’s fell from 68% to 62%.
3. Japan Plans to Remove Personal Import Tax Reductions
According to Nikkei, Japan is planning to abolish its personal import tax reduction policy. The current system allows individuals to pay approximately 40% less in duties, creating a price advantage for cross-border platforms like Temu and impacting local brands. Related import parcels reached 200 million in FY 2024—four times higher than five years ago. The policy may be removed in FY 2026, alongside a review of small-parcel tax exemptions. Global cross-border compliance is expected to tighten.
4. Amazon Halloween Product Returns Surge Over 30%
After Halloween, Amazon experienced a wave of returns. Some sellers reported return rates surpassing 30% on seasonal items—much higher than the usual 7-8%. Images from Amazon return centers show large numbers of consumers returning costumes and props.
Seasonal products are difficult to resell once the holiday passes, leading to high storage costs and inventory write-offs. Similar “use and return” behavior is increasingly common across online retail markets. Some merchants attempted countermeasures like oversized return labels, but the effect remains limited. The high return rate of seasonal products has become a persistent challenge and is putting direct pressure on margins.
5. Recommerce Continues to Grow at 10%+ Annually
Recommerce—resale, refurbished, or returned goods across platforms and retailers—is now one of the fastest-growing retail segments. AIM Group reports recommerce categories growing over 10% annually. In second-hand fashion, growth is around 10%, compared to just 3% in new apparel.
To support this trend, AIM Group will launch the first Recommerce Buzz conference in 2026 and introduce a dedicated weekly industry newsletter focused on inventory management, reverse logistics, payments, and refurbishment operations.
For more marketing insights and tools, visit GoodsFox.
