ECOMMERCE inSOUTHEAST ASIA

Trends - Q3-2015

By 2030, Asia’s economy may well be larger than that of the United States & the European Union combined.

Asian countries are evolving from manufacturing hubs into lucrative consumer markets.

20

30

The upcoming launch of the ASEAN Economic Community will give a further boost to development in Southeast Asia

The ecommerce market in Asia- Pacific is one of the fastest growing in the world. It’s expected to continue growing 20% annually until 2018 (at least...)

BIG

4

If you’re looking to enter the fray or expand existing operations, pay special attention to these four areas:

1. Smartphone penetration 2. Social media savvy 3. Billing options 4. Fulfillment logistics

MOBILE

Southeast Asia, like much of the developing world, owes the nascence of its web economy to the ascent of mobile web & the increasingly ubiquitous presence of smartphones in our lives.

The primary attitude towards online shopping is still one of

SUSPICION.

Delivering a

SMOOTH,

SECURE &

ENJOYABLE experience, particularly on mobiles, is critical to success.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Southeast Asians are among the world’s most active users of social media: ➔ Bangkok is the Facebook capital of the

world, with more registered users than any other city on the planet.

➔ Instagram’s 2 most popular locations in the world in 2013 were both in Bangkok.

➔ The Line chat app has +33,000,000 Thai users - over 50% of Thailand’s population!

5,000,000 Line accounts in Thailand participate in mobile flash sales. 10,000 Facebook pages in Thailand sell products, some making as much as $100,000 monthly.

Southeast Asians are social media SAVVY. Companies aiming for market share MUST ENGAGE to have ANY sort of credibility...

SOCIALLYCONNECTEDCONSUMERS

Savvy e-commerce operators strive to envelop shoppers in experiences that mesh purchasing & social interactions via promotions & competitions.

Friends & fans talk about stuff they like, & rate/share/promote the brands to each other.

BILLING

Credit card usage is only just emerging in much of Southeast Asia.

In Thailand, for example, only 1 in 10 people has a credit card, & folks avoid using them for online purchases due to security concerns.

Trust is such a big issue that the majority of transactions are handled as bank transfers or cash on delivery.

CA

SH

CURRENCIESSoutheast Asia’s many currencies can be a challenge, or an opportunity, depending on the approach taken. Treating the entire region as a single unit is a grave mistake - Singapore & Laos are separated by only an hour of flight time, but economically they’re as far apart as Norway & Pakistan...

If you want a chance at success, you must account for these challenges:

➔ Accept cash-on-delivery, transfers & other types of payments besides credit cards.

➔ Have a pricing strategy that accounts for a variety of currencies & price points.

$$

$$

FULFILLMENT

1km

Southeast Asia presents unique challenges in fulfilling orders.The region is a prime example of so called “last-mile problems” that impede delivery of products to clients’ doors:

➔ Patchy transportation infrastructure ➔ Slow / unreliable postal networks ➔ Weather ➔ Traffic

Solutions adopted by savvy local players include relying on apps like Lalamove/ Gogovan/Uber for on-demand shipping, & range all the way to investing in an in-house delivery capability.

THANKS!

More useful stuff:Website planning template

App planning template

ask@vimi.co+66-9-1003-7545