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Asean e-commerce maturing
Asean e-commerce will evolve from infancy to a more mature stage with premium products, innovation, creativity and new customer experiences, says Lazada, a major regional firm in the sector.
Online shopping in Asean is forecast to reach US$172 billion by 2025, about 2.8 times the 2020 volume, the firm said.
“In the pandemic, resilience and innovation are key to overcoming challenges. Lazada is very optimistic that all of the countries across Southeast Asia will be able to flatten the curve and emerge stronger than ever,” Chun Li, chief executive of Lazada Group and chief executive of Lazada Indonesia, said at its ‘Brands Future Forum 2021’ hybrid event.
Innovation and creativity, cutting-edge technology and stunning customer experiences continue to transform e-commerce thanks to online migration, he said.
Last year there were 40 million new internet users in Asean, which means 70% of the region’s population can access the internet.
At Lazada, there is an average of 150 million monthly users and its online transactions have grown nearly 100% year-on-year, he said.
LazMall, a premium-brand-focused feature of Lazada, has seen the number of buyers double year-on-year with their purchase value being twice as much as that of average buyers on Lazada.
There are 32,000 brands on LazMall, including 9,000 from Thailand.
According to Lazada’s Digital Commerce Confidence Index, 70% of Asean online sellers are confident about their business prospects and growth over the next three months.
James Chang, head of strategic accounts and retail of Lazada Group and chief executive of Lazada Singapore, said the pandemic is firing up e-commerce adoption in Asean.
According to e-Conomy SEA 2020 report, jointly commissioned by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, e-commerce in Asean hit $62 billion in value last year.
The proportion of online sales in the retail sector has grown varyingly based on product categories from 2019 to 2020.
The proportion of electronics items sold online reached 21% last year, versus 14% in 2019, and that of fashion items hit 13% last year, up from 9% a year before.
Asean has a large young population and its strong GDP growth has quickly increased the size of the middle-class sector, which is a boon for the region’s retail sector, projected to see a 5% growth rate per annum until 2025, according to Mr Chang.
Online retail in the region currently accounts for 7% of total sales in the segment, while China’s has reached 26%.
He said online shopping in Asean is expected to reach $172 billion by 2025 with the proportion of online retail reaching 14% by that time.
“This is still an infancy stage of e-commerce in the region, compared with other regions like China,” said Mr Chang.
In the mid term, the new retail feature will step in by creating one holistic, synchronised experience for customers across the channels of brands through enriched data and technology.
Brands will have the ability to target customers at the most appropriate time to convey the message and unify all go-to-market channels so that brands can maximise the brand experience reach to customers.
As the e-commerce market is becoming more mature, consumers are starting to buy items with higher prices online with a much greater level of trust, Mr Chang said.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2174947/asean-e-commerce-maturing