Following in the footsteps of China and the United States, Southeast Asia is now on the cusp of the golden age of e-commerce and seems to be ready to become the third largest e-commerce market after China and India. The American eMarketer company predicts that more than 40% of B2C e-commerce business will occur in the Asia-Pacific region in the future. The six major ASEAN countries are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. The combined total online retail sales will reach 34.5 billion by 2018. US dollars, while it was only US$7 billion in 2013. It is normal for the annual scale to grow by 70% to 80% or even double.
Southeast Asia has a population of nearly 620 million. In 2015, the disposable income exceeded US$3,000, and the Internet penetration rate was 32%. There are approximately 200 million Internet users, which will grow to 294 million in the next three years. The online shopping penetration rate will reach 48%. It is expected that with the popularity of smartphones and wireless mobile networks, e-commerce will usher in explosive growth. One of the biggest challenges faced by consumers in all underdeveloped regions is the fragmented retail industry. Except in some major cities, consumers everywhere have extremely limited shopping options.
In addition, the ASEAN region is also one of the largest smartphone markets in the world, with mobile client transactions accounting for 40% of global e-commerce transactions. This is a key advantage for the development of e-commerce in the ASEAN region. This region is different from other regional markets in that local e-commerce has developed better, with Lazada, Singapore Qoo10 and Shopee Vietnam Weshop developing rapidly. Generally speaking, economic growth and structural transformation, digital lifestyle, and the younger generation are the main reasons for the explosion of e-commerce here.
At the end of 2015, the “ASEAN Community AEC” was officially established, and the ASEAN single market took shape, promoting the free flow of goods, services, capital and skilled labor within the region, and the role of cross-border logistics has become increasingly prominent. . China is ASEAN’s largest trading partner, and ASEAN is China’s third largest trading partner. Amid sluggish demand from developed countries, China and Southeast Asia have become important supports for each other’s external demand, and ASEAN is one of the important footholds of the “Belt and Road” strategy.
Although the proportion of online shopping in the region only accounts for 1% of the retail industry today, it may reach a Chinese-style double-digit proportion in the next five years, and B2C is expected to maintain a double-digit proportion in the next few years. increase. Infrastructure gaps restrict the development of cross-border logistics. There are large differences in the development of the postal industry among ASEAN countries, but they are basically consistent with the economic development levels of each country. Due to the very low penetration rate of credit cards, more than 70% of people in some countries do not have bank accounts, and less than 5% of people have credit cards.
In this regard, Lazada built its own e-wallet helloPay, which provides services such as cash on delivery or pick-up at nearby convenience stores. Other payment tools include UP2ME TrueMoney, PAYSBUY, LinePay and AirPay. Singapore is the most enthusiastic country in Southeast Asia for online shopping. Coupled with the accumulation of capital and technical resources, Singapore is a leader in e-commerce in Southeast Asia. Indonesia has a large population base. With the popularization of the Internet, online shoppers will be generated from its huge population base. It is expected that Indonesia’s e-commerce sales will account for more than 1/3 of Southeast Asian countries in the next three years.
JD.com quietly entered Indonesia and launched JD.id. Alibaba acquired Lazada and invested in Singapore Post, opening the way for Tmall and Taobao to enter Southeast Asia. The development trend of e-commerce is from P2P to C2C to B2C, and finally becomes a brand direct sales website (Brand.com). The United States follows Craigslist and eBay to Amazon, and finally to brand direct sales websites such as Nike, JCrew and Apple official websites. China will also develop many independent market brand official websites.
Today’s Southeast Asia is following a similar trend. Classified information 2C websites such as OLX, Tokopedia and Qoo10 are gaining momentum. 11street is relatively big in Malaysia. Shopee, owned by the gaming giant Garena, started to do local C2C. Later, I started to do mobile social B2C.
There is no oligarchy like China’s e-commerce in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is one of the main places where overseas Chinese live, and it is also the region with the strongest economic strength of overseas Chinese businessmen. In the past, Chinese businessmen have used their special ties with China to become a bridge and carrier for economic and cultural exchanges and connections between China and ASEAN countries. Local operations should also rely on them. In addition to Malaysia Post and Singapore Post, there are also commercial companies such as Citylink, GDEX acquired by Toll, DPEX and Indonesian RPX International Air Transport SkyNet.