Retail News CRM

Tag: E-Commerce

  • Amazon reportedly coming to Singapore

    Amazon reportedly coming to Singapore

    Amazon is said to be coming to Singapore and as soon as this week, according to a report by TechCrunch, marking the US e-commerce giant’s entry into Southeast Asia.

    A close familiar with the matter told the tech publication that Amazon plans to launch Amazon Prime, Amazon Prime Now fast delivery and Amazon’s regular e-commerce services, in a bid to tap Singapore’s population of over five million people.

    Exact product offerings and pricing remains unknown at this time.

    The Singapore rumour mill started brewing in 2016 when Amazon hinted at the idea of entering Southeast Asia last November, but it was reportedly delayed following complications.

    Via social media, a quick glimpse at Instagram this week shows Amazon has already begun slyly marketing its services through online influencers who have posted sponsored content in a bid to tease Amazon’s Prime Now to their followers, using with the hashtag #dontsaybojio.

    Among the influencers are Jaime Teo, theramengirl, Charmaine Seah-Ong and online portal superadrianme.com. While Amazon isn’t mentioned in the posts, the iconic ‘tick’ logo is seen on the packaging of goods shown.

    Amazon’s move mimics Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, who has been rapidly expanding in Southeast Asia over the past year.

    Milestones include the major investments in Malaysia such as the Digital Free Trade Zone, its first e-hub outside of China along with the availability of the Alipay digital wallet and Alibaba Cloud service.

    The Singapore news comes as Amazon readies for an imminent Australia debut, signalling the retailer’s plans for a piece of the burgeoning e-commerce markets in Asia-Pacific.

  • E-commerce dominates purchasing habits

    E-commerce dominates purchasing habits

    With the rapid evolution of technology and the internet, consumers are changing their attitudes and behaviours. Therefore, moving fast to understand changes in consumer demands is crucial for any business to grow sustainably, according to research conducted by Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam.

    Internet accessibility in Vietnam at present includes 94 percent of urban households and 69 percent of rural households.

    If internet accessibility continues to grow at the current pace, nearly 100 percent of Vietnamese households will be connected to the internet in the next five years, the research said, adding that the number of broadband subscribers in Vietnam is 53.411 million.

    The development of such services has prompted businesses and consumers to use the internet for different purposes like marketing, selling, buying and payment.

    According to Google, eight out of ten Vietnamese consumers are online at least once a day.

    Today’s Vietnamese consumers are also more familiar with shopping online. Even before they make a purchase, consumers use the internet to find information on products they considering buying, the research said.

    Higher purchasing power breeds greater aspirations, but does not mean that consumers will spend uncontrollably.

    “Over time, we have seen that households tend to save a greater proportion of their total income for the future and with interest rates in Vietnam still relatively rewarding, it is understandable. Anyone selling any consumer goods now has greater competition, within a smaller pie,” the research noted.

    Nguyen Huy Hoang, Business Development Director – Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam, said thanks to widespread internet coverage, Vietnamese consumers can access more diverse products and services. Through virtual stores, they can purchase products at home.

    With rising incomes and a growing middle class, cross border shopping is another developing trend. Many international brands start seeing Vietnam as a great opportunity for them to increase their sales. Today, this is happening in various industries such as fashion with many international brands moving into Vietnam and in fast moving consumer goods markets.

    More foreign brands can penetrate Vietnam‘smarket thanks to the proliferation of foreign retailers entering the market such as Emart, Aeon Mall and most recently 7-Eleven.

    Each has their own plan to expand with more store openings that will make more international products more accessible. With more foreign products more accessible to the masses in modern arenas but also in more traditional stores, this represents a threat to local products in Vietnam.

    Hoang said using the internet, businesses can promote their products to consumers in other countries quickly and cheaply, noting that borderless online shopping allows enterprises to maximise sales.

    The internet can also help farmers, small enterprises and communities introduce their products to the world.

    However, he said, the e-commerce market in Vietnam is still at the very early stage of development and needs big players to bring knowledge, know-how and expertise.

    Fabrice Carrasco, Managing Director of Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam and Philippines said Vietnamese consumers raise a lot of issues, with brand owners finding it hard to keep up with their modern lifestyle, independent decisions and demand for product sophistication. Such complexity requires developing on-trend products and talking to shoppers.

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  • The Rise of Selfies in E-Commerce in 2017

    The Rise of Selfies in E-Commerce in 2017

    Over the last few years, e-commerce has evolved from a supporting act into a leading role. Retailers globally are looking for e-commerce to drive their future growth. As a part of this effort, retailers are realizing the benefits of providing an exceptional customer experience for their online shoppers.

    The maturation of existing technologies, including computer-vision, has provided retailers with the possibility to create compelling online customer experiences that drive results, increase customer conversion and loyalty as well as provide retailers with a wealth of information about their shoppers.

    Selfies and computer-vision in general are making their presence felt in the online customer experiences of retailers and are quickly winning the attention of shoppers.

    Solutions targeting specific e-commerce verticals, such as Amazon’s Outfit Compare for fashion, Smart Picture for home improvement and interior design or Revieve’s Digital Skincare Advisor for beauty are examples of offerings that are attracting the attention of ecommerce executives as they strive to grow their online businesses

    The most important benefit of leveraging selfies as part of creating a compelling customer experience for your shoppers is saving their time. Through selfies, shoppers are able to find products relevant for them and their desires faster than ever.

    Furthermore, selfies are becoming an increasingly important factor in building true one-tone personalization into e-commerce experiences.
    The fundamental shift being created by technology-lead solutions targeting specific verticals has to do with recent acknowledgements that not all online shopping is alike.

    The expectations of online shoppers vary widely across product groups and categories and retailers can no longer afford to consider their e-commerce visitors similar across verticals.

    This results in the need for retailers to create specific, vertical- or category –focused customer experiences to meet the needs of online shoppers and presents a change in the mindset of most e-commerce retailers.
    Although selfies are a relatively novel way of interacting with the shopper online, they represent an important opportunity for retailers in creating a competitive advantage through the online customer experience and helping combat against the dominance of Amazon.

    The days of building “one-size-fits-all” experiences for shoppers online will soon be but a distant memory.

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  • Cross-border e-commerce: the 21st century spice trade

    Cross-border e-commerce: the 21st century spice trade

    Amidst recent uncertainties around the themes of globalization and international trade, one thing remains absolutely certain: cross-border trade is here to stay. People have been engaged in international trade for more than five millenniums. According to some of the earliest records of civilization, the exchange of goods was already supported by trading posts established in South Asia and Middle East.

    One of the main commodities was spices, which were highly prized. Traders in the Middle East offered cinnamon and cassia, embellishing their sales pitches with tales about their mysterious origins and properties. And customers loved it: The spice trade flourished and continued through to modern times, on the back of demand for these high value commodities, and the ingenuity of those who worked to source and sell them around the world. It built bridges between different cultures and gave rise to major shipping routes between continents, many of which endure till this day.

    Fundamentally, consumers have not changed over the last 5,000 years. As consumers, they still crave exclusive, high quality and exotic goods. They are willing to invest a certain amount of time and effort to seek out what they want at the best price. Merchants are constantly looking for enterprising, creative ways of taking their goods across borders to new markets. All these have set the stage for cross-border e-commerce – the new ‘spice trade’ phenomenon that will help to shape international trade, transform the world’s supply chains and build new shipping routes in the future.

    E-commerce is not a particularly new phenomenon. And neither is cross-border e-commerce. People have been able to order – particularly from major online retailers – around the world for years now, and this has helped the cross-border market grow to USD 300 billion up till 2015.

    Research insights published recently by DHL Express – in partnership with a leading global management consultancy, has indicated that this business will continue to flourish for years to come. According to the report, this market offers superior growth rates to those available in just about any other retail segment today. Cross-border e-commerce is expected to grow, on average, at nearly twice the rate of domestic online retail by 2020. The market will be three times bigger than what it was in 2015 by then.

    Outside of today’s biggest spice route supply markets—US, UK and China—new spice trade routes have emerged in Singapore, Hong Kong and India, spurred by rising consumer education and e-tailer awareness of opportunity. According to Google’s Consumer Barometer, consumers are motivated to purchase from abroad because of better product availability, more attractive offerings and trust in the brands. And consumers in Singapore (being ranked top alongside Japan, Germany and the UK) also cited better availability as a principal reason for cross-border online purchases.

  • Ensogo Philippines to shut down

    Ensogo Philippines to shut down

    Ensogo Philippines will be closed down along with the online retailers’ other sites across Southeast Asia.

    Following the resignation of its co-founder Kris Marszalek, the Singapore-based tech company said it will cut its financial support to its sales and marketplace business units in Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

    “These business units will be shut down. All staff have been informed and communications will be made to customers in the coming days,” the company said in a statement.

    Australian internet entrepreneur Patrick Grove founded Ensogo, formerly iBuy. Grove also established the online businesses iProperty and iCar under Catcha Group.

    Recently the company reported growth averaging more than 100 per cent in the first quarter, after the launch of a cross-border marketplace business in January. It said the number of suppliers had skyrocketed from 3141 in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 13,599 in the first quarter of 2016. The first three months saw US$8.2 million in gross merchandise value.

    As of the end of March 2016, however, Ensogo reported A$22.6 million (about US$17 million) in receipts from customers, while total cash was only A$17.6 million, a 64 per cent decline from A$29 million by the end of last year. Earlier this year the company, which is headquartered in Singapore and listed in Australia, laid off employees.

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  • Singapore sets e-commerce target for growth

    Singapore sets e-commerce target for growth

    Singapore has set a three-year target to grow the share of e-commerce from the current 3 per cent to 10 per cent of total receipts.

    This would match where China was three years ago, according to Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Sim Ann.

    She told Parliament that benchmarked against the 2014 figures of the UK (13 per cent) and the US (6.5 per cent), Singapore’s target was not unrealistic.

    One in four online retail transactions in Singapore were with foreign businesses, she said.

    Total e-commerce with locally issued credit and debit cards was valued at S$24.7 billion (US$17.8 billion) over the past three years, with foreign entities accounting for $6.4 billion worth of these transactions, said Sim in response to an MP query.

    “While e-commerce presents competition to our retailers, it also gives them the opportunity to expand their reach to the region and beyond,” she said.

    The retail industry transformation map outlined last year by the government envisioned a “vibrant” retail industry spanning physical stores, online retailing and mobile channels, as well as local brand owners with global presence.

    Sim said government initiatives were helping retailers build digital capabilities and access e-commerce…

    Enterprise agency Spring Singapore and the Info-Communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) have teamed up to pre-qualify e-commerce packaged solutions that can be readily adopted by small and medium enterprises.

    Spring is also partnering companies such as Google to help SMEs strengthen their digital marketing, while other private firms like DBS, Mediacorp and SingTel have given support by setting up an e-marketplace and training opportunities.

    Trade agency International Enterprise Singapore helps companies leverage e-commerce to unlock growth opportunities in overseas markets.

    At the same time, said Sim, trade associations and chambers of commerce were reaching out to SMEs to encourage them to adopt e-commerce.

    Being launched this year is Spring’s initiatives with SkillsFuture Singapore to help the retail industry workforce adapt and upskill to keep up with developments in e-commerce and digital marketing.

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  • India’s Flipkart planning offline venture

    India’s Flipkart planning offline venture

    India’s Flipkart is planning to enter the brick-and-mortar space as a master franchisee for foreign brands. This follows other e-commerce companies opening on-ground ventures as the online market slows down.

    Flipkart is already in advanced talks with Giordano for a licensing deal to sell the Hong Kong­ apparel and accessory retailer’s products both offline and online in India. The plan is to set up a chain of Giordano­-branded stores along with a digital platform, says an insider.

    Flipkart will appoint sub-­franchisees with brick-­and-­mortar expertise to run the physical stores.

    Meanwhile, pure-play companies such as Faballey, Lenskart, Myntra, Nykaa, Pepperfry and Urban Ladder have already set up physical stores.

    Fashion retailer Myntra this year acquired the Indian franchisee agreement for Spain’s Mango and is appointing two sub-­franchisees for the label – Jaipur-­based Samarth, which runs more than 100 outlets of Benetton, Calvin Klein, Lee, Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, US Polo and Wrangler, and New Delhi­-based G&B which has 25 Benetton stores in the National Capital Region.

    Myntra is also selling its own brands. It opened its first brick-and-­mortar store in Bengaluru in March under its private brand Roadster on the 100 Feet Road.

    Beauty retailer Nykaa.com is also expanding on the ground. Its head of offline retail strategy, Adwaita Nayar, says touch and feel is important for customers in India. “Almost 90 per cent of the market for beauty products is still offline.”

    Nykaa.com intends to have large-format experiential stores as well as smaller outlets. Its aim is to have 30 stores at malls and high streets as well as travel retail by 2020.

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  • The Alibaba Group is ready to do business in Macau

    The Alibaba Group is ready to do business in Macau

    Alibaba Group Holding Limited has had its application for trademark protection accepted in Macau, enabling the Chinese e-commerce giant to enter the MSAR with a series of products.

    Brands Ant Star, Ant Star Bank, Alimebot, 阿里蜜，星匯，星安，智惠，星匯銀行，智惠銀行, are now able to create and commercialise in Macau products ranging from newspapers and magazines to credit and debit cards, scientific and nautical instruments, file sharing software and GPS equipment. But also advertising, execution and supervision of loyalty programmes and incentives, business consulting to traffic optimisation of websites, large warehouse retail services or even insurance, financial and monetary businesses.

    In total, many hundreds of products and services that the company – based in Hangzhou and founded in 1999 by Jack Ma and Peng Lei – is now allowed to conduct here.

    With over 50,000 employees, Alibaba provides consumer-to-consumer, business-to-consumer and business-to-business sales services via web portals.

    Recently, the Chinese giant invested US$1 billion (MOP8 billion) in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada Group increasing its stake to more than 80 per cent and making is presence even stronger in the region.

    According to Forbes magazine, over the past year Ma has spent more than 800 hours flying to dozens of countries, meeting business leaders and heads of state to introduce his grand vision: small businesses from all corners of the world trading freely and securely on the Alibaba platform.

    Highly reported Jack Ma’s ambition is to see his company reach the US$1 trillion mark in gross merchandise value by 2020.

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  • Amazon prepares to take on South Korean e-commerce

    Amazon prepares to take on South Korean e-commerce

    Amazon is preparing to expand competition in the Korean online retail market, as evidenced by a recent wave of advertisements for positions in its office in Seoul.

    In the last week alone, the e-commerce giant advertised for 49 full-time positions and internships in Seoul, many within Global Selling, Marketing, and Business Development.

    To date, Amazon’s business in South Korea has focused on cloud computing rather than online retail. AWS opened an office in Seoul in 2012 and began accumulating customers and formulating partnerships with a broad base of Korean companies, including Samsung, Nexon Gaming, and Mirae Investments.

    Amazon added an AWS region in Seoul in January 2016, to provide local customers with low-latency access to AWS infrastructure services.

    However, with the addition of employees in Global Selling and Marketing, it appears that Amazon is ready to expand its retail e-commerce footprint in the region as well.

    South Korea represents one of the biggest e-commerce markets worldwide, with an existing market of $19.12 billion in 2016 expected to grow to over $32 billion by 2021. This represents the highest e-commerce penetration in the APAC market, with 72% active online shopping reach.

    South Korea’s online shopping reach was second only to the UK in a recent survey, roughly similar to that of Germany. However, South Korea is expected to surpass both the UK and Germany in online sales over the course of the next two years.

    The current market leader is 11Street, a subsidiary of SK Telecom, followed closely by newcomer Coupang.com. However, Amazon is expected to have a disruptive effect on the South Korean market in part due to its global reach. Through Amazon, sellers whose current efforts are focused on the South Korean market will be able to access a global customer base for their products.

    The most popular online shopping categories in South Korea are online travel and reservation services, home electronics and appliances, and fashion and apparel. Amazon recently made major gains in online sales of home appliances and is on track to become the leading US online retailer of consumer apparel.

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  • e-retail brands out of the social media loop in SE Asia

    e-retail brands out of the social media loop in SE Asia

    Over 85% of consumers in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, who mention e-retailer brand names in their social media posts don’t tag brand handles, according to Digimind.

    This means brands need to be vigilant in monitoring their brand reputation in the wider social media space to ensure they aren’t missing out on key conversations and trends, and are able to act upon any customer service concerns quickly.

    With the rise of empowered consumers and an increasing adoption of online shopping, e-retailers need to adopt customer-centric strategies in order to thrive. With so much of our daily conversations happening online, data from social media can provide key insights for e-retailers wishing to optimize customer experiences.

    Digimind’s study, Social Shopping in 2017, assessed the state of the e-retail industry in the three countries by monitoring 15 local and regional e-retailers, including Lazada, Zalora, and Berrybenka.

    “It’s no secret that brands who implement customer-centric strategies are excelling. With 2.8 billion active social media users in Southeast Asia, it is crucial for e-retailers to listen to what is being said about their brand, competitors and the industry online,” said Stephen Dale, general manager of APAC at Digimind.

    “Understanding what consumers are saying on social media can provide companies with an arsenal of insights that can be used to develop content strategies, improve customer service, build brand advocacy, and increase sales,” said Dale.

    He added that when analyzed in conjunction with other data such as web page visits and browsing behavior, this can further inform marketing plans and Voice of the Customer programs.

    The study also revealed that while the majority of e-retailer’s followers in the countries studied were on Facebook, consumers were most actively publicly posting their opinions and experiences on e-retailers on Instagram and Twitter.

    This means while Facebook is the ideal channel for brands to communicate with followers, Instagram and Twitter are key channels for community engagement.

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  • H&M India to debut e-commerce, plans 8 new stores

    H&M India to debut e-commerce, plans 8 new stores

    H&M plans to launch an India-dedicated e-commerce this year, as well as several new store openings, in a bid to reach customers across all of India, not just major metropolitan hubs.

    The Swedish fast-fashion giant is planning to add 8 new stores within the next 6 months, adding five more stores in Tier 1 cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, and three and in Tier 2 cities.

    H&M will add two new stores in Mumbai, two at Bengaluru and one in Delhi’s National Capital Region (NCR) of Ghaziabad.

    The brand will also foray into new cities of Coimbatore, Indore and Amritsar this year, the company said in a statement.

    “H&M is especially excited to expand its reach in India, a market that poses tremendous potential both in Tier I & Tier II cities”, said Janne Einola, Country Manager at H&M India.

    Meanwhile, H&M’s online vertical is on the verge of deployment. The venture into online market would see it cater to Tier 2 and tier 3 cities where H&M does not have any physical presence as of yet.

    The group’s Indian operations turned profitable this year, posting remarkable sales of Rs 435 crore (US$67 million) in six months from December 2016 to May 2017.

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  • Capitalising on China’s cross-border e-commerce market

    Capitalising on China’s cross-border e-commerce market

    Attendees of the dialogue on GMS Cross-border E-commerce Cooperation Platform held in Yunnan province, China earlier this month discussed how to develop cross-border e-commerce businesses of ASEAN countries. More than 100 representatives from e-commerce companies and associations from the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) comprising Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam as well as Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in China participated with this event. Ray Li, vice president of SF Express International Business Division, shared his insights as a representative from the logistics sector on the import opportunities for Chinese e-commerce companies at the event.

    China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative and Supply-Side Reform policy provides a driving force for the development of cross-border trade for ASEAN countries as well as for China itself, Ray Li said. Overseas shopping by Chinese consumers is growing at a rate of more than 50% annually, driving the rapid increase in sales of milk power made in Singapore, coffee made in Vietnam and latex products made in Thailand.

    As how to best expand into the Chinese market, in the pilot stage of business, Ray Li suggested cross-border e-commerce suppliers use B2C direct mailing services with light assets, zero inventory, small quantities and multi batch models, in order to accelerate the stock cycle and sales.

    SF Express is a Chinese express company known for its fast delivery and quality services and has a network coverage of 34 provinces and cities across China. The express service provider, which owns 51 all-cargo aircraft, is building an air logistics hub that will soon to be the first in Asia and the fourth in the world. In Southeast Asia, the company has set up service points in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand with its own local service teams that can provide door-to-door international express services.

    This event was co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs, the Department of Commerce of Yunnan Province, and the Asia-Pacific Model E-Port Network Operational Center. The event aims to strengthen the cooperation between and the development of GMS members in terms of cross-board e-commerce, through in-depth dialogues and communications.

  • Saha, Lazada unite for e-commerce expansion

    Saha, Lazada unite for e-commerce expansion

    Saha Group Fair is anticipated to attract over 1 million visitors, contributing more than 300 million baht in transactions. The fair runs until Sunday at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.

    Saha Pattana Inter-Holding Co, an investment company of Saha Group, has entered into a partnership with Lazada Thailand Co, aiming to use the e-commerce channel to explore its business at home and abroad.

    Saha Group chairman Boonsithi Chokwatana said the cooperation will fully take place this year after both parties started working together in 2014 to improve their selling platforms, warehouse systems, logistics management, payment methods and customer service centres.

    The companies have since signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) enabling the Thai group to explore markets abroad, with Asean countries and China being targeted in particular.

    brands from Saha Group are now available via Lazada in various categories, including health and beauty products, lingerie and sport wears. More product categories will be added, including home and living products and groceries.

    Mr Boonsithi said Lazada is the leader in the Southeast Asian e-commerce market and seventh in terms of overall website popularity. It has a strong business base in Indonesia, Malaysia and other Asean market as well as China, the hometown of Alibaba, which is the parent company of Lazada.

    “This will help increase opportunities for our products to expand into the Asian market, particularly China, where customers are familiar with online shopping,” he said.

    Lazada expanded its online business into Asean five years ago in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand.

    “One strong trend being seen among Thai consumers that is very positive for e-commerce is the higher penetration of mobiles,” said Alessandro Piscini, chief executive of Lazada Thailand.

    A lot of people access the internet for the first time through a mobile device and they are spending more time online for entertainment and various other content, he said.

    “E-commerce is not just about a website, but also the sub-businesses that complete the user experience i.e. payments or logistics,” said Mr Piscini, adding that Lazada will continue to invest in strengthening this ecosystem through its facilities to be put in the Eastern Economic Corridor.

    Lazada offers more than 10 million items in Thailand and 100 million items across Southeast Asia. The company plans to add two to three product categories including groceries.

    Saha Group has engaged in online business for a decade but sales remain sluggish, accounting for only 1% of Saha Group’s total.

    After partnering with Lazada, the group forecasts the sales contribution from online channels will rise to 10% in the next three years.

    The 75-year old group, which is Thailand’s leading consumer product conglomerate, has annual sales revenue of more than 200 billion baht from a variety of products, including food and drinks, household goods, clothes, leather goods, shoes, cosmetics and sports gear.

    “The cooperation with Lazada opens a new business chapter for our group,” said Mr Boonsithi.

    To support the online channel, Saha Group’s subsidiaries Tiger Distribution and Logistic Co yesterday signed a MoU with Paltac Corporation of Japan to strengthen its logistics businesses.

    Tiger Distribution is spending 1.8 billion baht to develop Tiger Suvarnnabhumi DC Project, a large scale warehouse building in Lat Krabang, Bangkok. It is expected to open this distribution centre in June next year.

  • Vietnamese consumers among most demanding on e-commerce

    Vietnamese consumers among most demanding on e-commerce

    Nielsen has forecast that the Vietnamese e-commerce market will grow 22 per cent this year and 13.2 per cent by 2020.

    According to the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM), the local e-commerce sector will become a 10-billion-dollar business in the next five years.

    However, local consumers are also demanding, with many complaints about price, product information and authorisation, which should be addressed by merchants to improve customers’ trust.

    A research conducted by iPrice and Trusted Company based on more than 30,000 reviews on 5,000 websites in Viet Nam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines found that Vietnamese customers have the lowest trust on e-commerce and spend less money on shopping online.

    Vietnamese customers complain the most about “fake products”, 15 per cent higher than Thailand, the country with the second maximum complaints, given that fact that Thailand ranked 4th worldwide in the fake goods trade.

    The second maximum complaints on e-commerce sites by Vietnamese customers are about the price of products. Despite being an aggressive promotion hunter, the Vietnamese still think products listed by e-commerce merchants are overpriced.

    Given that 80 per cent of consumers prefer cash on delivery (COD) payment, the country also has the highest order cancellation rate, with 30 per cent of products not being accepted due to product failure, the research said.

    Unlike consumers in other Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia that have shared concerns on buying products, the most common queries of the Vietnamese are on product authorisation (store address) and availability. They are revealed to often use feedback forms to ask about products.

    Of all Southeast Asian countries, Viet Nam has an average rating of 3.7 out of five stars, the research has revealed. This is due to the fact that only large merchants have developed a rating scheme for a better shopping experience for consumers.

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  • A sophisticated e-commerce model attracts 8 major supermarkets

    A sophisticated e-commerce model attracts 8 major supermarkets

    Honestbee, Asia’s leading online grocery and concierge service, where professional concierge shoppers handpick and deliver fresh groceries from top local stores,
    has announced partnerships with eight well-known major supermarket partners in Hong Kong on June 20th.

    Providing a turnkey solution for supermarkets to gain new customer bases and incremental revenue, Honestbee presents itself as an attractive solution to traditional supermarkets and boutique stores looking to grow their sales and customer base overnight.

    Honestbee, a Singaporean tech startup founded in 2015 operating in eight major cities in Asia including Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Taipei, Bangkok, Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, is now extending its service to include Japanese lifestyle brand YATA Supermarket, local chain supermarket Taste, as well as U select which sells close to 600 products from the UK’s leading supermarket, TESCO.

    Agreements with eight supermarkets including PARKnSHOP, Great Food Hall, Taste, Fusion, International (will launch in July), YATA Supermarket, U select and TESCO have allowed Honestbee to offer over 30,000 items to consumers in Hong Kong. The company continually innovates to improve the shopping varieties and delivery capabilities with the aim of delighting its customers, and building the largest and most convenient online grocery concierge service in Asia.

    Apart from the technological expertise and efficient network, the valuable information and solutions honestbee offers partners has played no small part in attracting new stores. “It’s a turnkey e-commerce solution”, said Hong Kong country manager of honestbee, Derek Winder. “This means, if someone wants to launch an e-commerce platform, they can use honestbee to build their e-commerce store as well as handle the payments, professional customer service team and logistics. Plus, our system captures valuable information like the most popular products, customer frequency, product ordering information and out of stock circumstances. This consumer data is incredibly useful and can easily help our partners realize which items they should stock more of!”

    With no upfront cost and a professional customer service team readily available to offer tailored solutions, honestbee’s e-commerce package presents an attractive offer to potential partners. Additionally, the company provides information not readily available to retailers in brick-and-mortar stores. This can include customer frequency, product ordering information, out of stock circumstances and the geographical location of orders. The ability to share which products are most popular during a certain time frame, for example, allows supermarkets to implement targeted marketing strategies.

    Along with comparatively high rental costs in Hong Kong, honestbee provides the ideal e-commerce platform – a critical component for all the partners looking to boost both online and offline sales.

    Since its launch, the company has successfully grown to become one of the most advanced players in the on-demand category, with 60% of customers making use of the service at least once a week and spending an average of HK$750 per visit. From the beginning, honestbee’s commitment has been to deliver a superior customer experience, become an invaluable partner for retailers, and give back to the community. Other than the major supermarkets mentioned above, honestbee partners with popular boutique stores in Hong Kong including Feather & Bone, The Butchers Club, Pet Line and Baby Central.

    Thanks to the recognizable regional expansion and quality service, honestbee has just won the Wild Digital #BOOM Startup of the Year award on 24th May 2017, which recognizes startups that have demonstrated outstanding growth.

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