The Overview and Opportunities in Asian E-commerce

The retail sector in Asia is one of the fast-growing markets in the region. It can be seen from the growth of one of its segments, e-commerce. This segment made up 19% of sales in Asia-Pacific. These e-commerce sales do not occur only in the online marketplace, but most of them occur via ‘super apps,’ such as KakaoTalk, WeChat, Facebook, Paytm, and Gojek.

When most retail segments in Asia suffer badly from the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, e-commerce in this region can still survive despite the difficult situation. Thanks to digitalization and technology, they have helped the industry adapt to the new norm in shopping.

E-commerce Growth in Asia 

Asia is the home of the largest e-commerce market in the world, China. In 2019, the total e-commerce revenue in this country was over 1.1 trillion USD. It is predicted that by 2020, China’s e-commerce will be larger than the combination of e-commerce in the USA, UK, Germany, France, and Japan.

Fast modernizers, such as India, Indonesia, and Vietnam, promise substantial digital evolution and quickly growing e-commerce sales. It is expected that in a few years, the e-commerce industry in those countries will grow as big as that in China. Moreover, it is essential to note that India’s e-commerce revenue grows at 51% annually, making it the highest globally. 

Meanwhile, developing digital countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines, do not promise digital evolution as vital as the fast modernizers do. However, e-commerce in those countries is predicted to grow similar to an e-commerce in Japan and South Korea.

There are numerous e-commerce platforms in Asia.

• Alibaba.com, a B2B marketplace, operates in 200 countries and owns AliExpress and Taobao. 
• Flipkart, the largest e-commerce in India, has more than 10 million customers.
• Lazada, the biggest e-commerce website in Southeast Asia, generates 1.5 billion USD annually.

Opportunities in Asia’s E-commerce Industry

Despite its rapid growth, the e-commerce industry in Asia still has some rooms to grow. Foreign investors who can find the potential will gain more profit from their investment in this industry. Some of these potentials are:

• Enhanced Shipping Options

In some emerging countries, the shipping and logistics industry is not well developed. Therefore, investors need to invest in this industry and the e-commerce industry to profit from e-commerce.

• Augmented Reality for Product Visualization

To increase sales, the e-commerce industry needs to offer product visualization in the form of augmented reality. This visualization will attract more customers and allow them to know what to expect from the products to be interested in buying these products.

• Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence allows the industry to perform effective and efficient processes to have a better shopping experience and make them want to shop again from the marketplace.

E-commerce in Asia is a fast-growing industry that offers massive scale potential for foreign investors. Various multinational companies have already had some shares in this industry, and they have gained ROI successfully.