Building Global E-Commerce Presence: The Growth in Southeast Asia
E-commerce is a fast-moving industry, and consumers all over the world are increasingly looking to grow their amount of spending online. While global players continue to build and refine their e-commerce presence in the developed markets, they are increasingly competing in developing markets such as many countries in Southeast Asia. And many are faced with managing the complex and fragmented markets in Southeast Asia.
The rate of digital adoption in Southeast Asia is high. The Philippines sends more texts than any other country, and Jakarta is the world’s number one city for tweets. Given the tech savvy population, the region’s acceptance of e-commerce is inevitable. In fact, some industries are already experiencing high online shopping trends with twenty-four percent of all clothing and footwear and eighteen percent of all travel purchased online.
Bain & Company recently laid out three guidance for succeeding in the Southeast Asia e-commerce market for retailers in terms of defining engagement models: where and how to invest, and what approaches to manage the complex and fragmented markets in Southeast Asia. The consulting company laid out suggestions such as setting direction and betting big, taking a nuanced approach, and having patience while acknowledging that the building process take many years.