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Tag: etail

  • Jabong launches ‘The mood store’ – shopping innovation rooted in fashion insights

    Jabong launches ‘The mood store’ – shopping innovation rooted in fashion insights

    Jabong, India’s leading online fashion retailer, launches the ‘Jabong Mood Store’, which redefines how India shops for fashion online. The Mood Store is the first-ever comprehensive fashion store that allows consumers to shop the entire look per their mood. The store is based on deep consumer understanding and analytics around preferences of the Indian fashion customer.

    The Mood Store will help users understand the best choices across moods like hanging out with friends, out for a road trip, stay at home pampering, and working at the office, among many others. Users will also be able to select the entire look based on different price points basis their needs. Building on Jabong’s brand philosophy of ‘Be You’, the Mood Store is the next step in Jabong innovating for growth.

    The Mood Store launch is supported by a 360-degree marketing campaign across TV, outdoor, cinema, CRM and social media. The overall brand campaign will focus heavily on digital promotions where various influencers will showcase their looks in different moods and for different occasions. The commercial will be aired on leading TV channels in entertainment, music, movies, lifestyle and other genres.

    The Mood Store brand campaign will feature day-to-day fashion that is easily shoppable and wearable, as against the typical industry trend of showcasing outlandish, runway fashion that the shoppers grapple to find anywhere. Digital shoppable videos on YouTube and Facebook will allow customers to buy the fashion shown in the video directly by clicking on its product card

    Gunjan Soni, Head of Jabong, says, ‘We understand both fashion and our consumers really well. Jabong consumer is more affluent, well-travelled, fashion forward and likes to buy complete looks, not just apparel. Fashion shopping behaviour tells us that people buy for a specific mood or occasion, not by categories. This insight led to the mood store innovation where consumers can shop entire looks together for a specific mood. With the launch of mood store and several new brand launches we are well set for a growth momentum. Our strategy is to use ‘tailored to fashion’ innovations to attract and retain the experienced fashion shopper. ‘

    Jabong is credited with launching several industry-firsts in Indian fashion ecommerce such as ramp walk video, online shoppable fashion week and the concept of online shop-in-shop. It has also brought several top global brands exclusively to the Indian market. Its high-quality product curation, top international brands, and a deep assortment that caters to the needs of a complete wardrobe make Jabong ideal to launch this unique fashion proposition as a one-stop destination for all moods and styles of a fashion shopper.

  • Vietnam sees rise in mobile e-commerce

    Vietnam sees rise in mobile e-commerce

    By January 2017, Vietnam was home to almost 47.2 million mobile internet users, half of the country’s population, according to the report “Vietnam Digital Landscape 2017” by We Are Social.

    Some 39 percent of the population have purchased products or services online, of them 29 percent have placed at least one online order via a mobile device.

    The total value of the country’s e-commerce market was estimated at about 1.8 billion USD in 2016, the report said.

    The 2017 Vietnam e-Business Index by the Vietnam e-Commerce Association (VECOM) shows that the internet has been a great tool for local enterprises in cross-border trade.

    They can communicate with overseas partners via the internet and can access online public services, for example, e-customs and e-certificate of origin.

    It also found that 45 percent of domestic enterprises own a website but only 19 percent of the websites are compatible with mobile devices, down from 26 percent in 2015.

    To succeed, domestic firms must catch up with mobile e-commerce trends to maintain a competitive edge over the others, said VECOM Vice President Nguyen Ngoc Dung at the Vietnam Mobile Day last weekend.

    Dung suggested that selecting a suitable domain name should be the first step in building a reliable online presence for a business as a domain name is not simply an address on the internet but is closely attached to the enterprise’s operations and branding.

    A mobile-friendly website will draw more customers to the brand name and improve its competitiveness, he added.

    For those who wish to reach out to the global markets, the domain name “.com” indicates credibility thanks to its popularity and stability over the past 18 years, said Executive Director of Mat Bao Corporation Huynh Ngoc Duy at the event.

    Sharing this view, Nguyen Tu Hong Quan, Director of the Nhan Hoa software company, noted that many international companies, including those listed in the Fortune 500, use “.com” for their website, aiming to reach new customers outside their regions.

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  • Lazada Singapore moves warehouse operations to SingPost hub

    Lazada Singapore moves warehouse operations to SingPost hub

    Lazada, a huge online shopping destination in Southeast Asia, and Singapore Post Limited, the country’s postal and eCommerce logistics service provider, announced that Lazada Singapore has moved its warehouse operations to SingPost Regional eCommerce Logistics Hub in Tampines Logistics Park.

    With investments by Alibaba in both companies, the move allows Lazada and SingPost to leverage on each other’s strengths to meet rising eCommerce demand in Southeast Asia. This combination of strengths in eCommerce and logistics will enable both companies to be in a leading position in the industry to serve a wider spectrum of customers, both in Singapore and the region. This also emphasises Lazada’s aim to work together with the wider eCommerce ecosystem in Singapore.

    “Moving Lazada Singapore’s entire warehouse operations to the SingPost Regional eCommerce Logistics Hub is the next natural step as we seek closer integration with our partners to better serve the needs of Singapore customers,” said Alexis Lanternier, CEO of Lazada Singapore. “With the recent launch of 99SME, our local sellers have access to more than 3.5 million monthly visitors in Singapore. Moving forward, we can help them expand and sell regionally.”

    SingPost Regional eCommerce Logistics Hub consolidates and integrates both warehousing and delivery hub capabilities into one building. With an integrated, end-to-end solution housed in one building, SingPost is able to provide Lazada with improved efficiency, resulting in a faster turnaround time.

    Lanternier added: “This also adequately prepares us for the Great Singapore Sale starting 6 June, and we are bringing in more brands than ever before, local and global. Customers can shop more with the confidence that their orders will be processed and delivered faster.”

    Sam Ang, executive vice president of SingPost, and CEO of Quantium Solutions International said: “Technology plays a big part in our Regional eCommerce Logistics Hub, increasing productivity and efficiency. This collaboration sees Lazada’s eCommerce platform and SingPost’s end-to-end logistics capabilities coming together and it will result in scale and efficiencies for both of us.”

    “Better still, these efficiencies will help the SME eTailers that are connected with the Lazada platform to strengthen their competitiveness in the eCommerce market domestically and internationally. We look forward to working with Lazada and supporting them as they grow in Singapore,” added Ang.

  • Alibaba sales beat estimates, plans $6m share buyback

    Alibaba sales beat estimates, plans $6m share buyback

    Alibaba Group’s first-quarter revenues surpassed industry estimates for the three-month period ending March, as the Chinese e-commerce giant witnessed strong growth in new business lines beyond online shopping.

    Total revenues for the last quarter reached 38.6 billion yuan (US$5.6bil), well above an average forecast of 36 billion yuan according to Thomson Reuters.

    “Our revenue base is now more diversified,” chief financial officer Maggie Wu said. The finance head added that Alibaba’s cloud and entertainment sectors became “more meaningful growth drivers” during the quarter.

    Despite the sales high, earnings fell flat for the three months, with profits adversely affected by tax increases after the expiration of a local tax reduction linked to Alibaba’s investment in Chinese electronics retailer Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd.

    Alibaba’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS), therefore, came in at 4.35 yuan (US$0.63), below estimates of 4.48 yuan.

    Coinciding with the results, Alibaba announced plans to buy back shares worth up to US$6bil over two years.

    The operator of online market place Tmall and financial payments system Alipay said the share repurchase scheme would replace its existing buyback program.

    For the last few years, Alibaba has been targeting news business lines such as cloud computing, big data, entertainment and offline retail as it expands beyond e-commerce.

    However, online shopping remains the firm’s bread and butter. In March, Alibaba said it plans to open a regional distribution hub in Malaysia to cater to its fast-growing business in the region. It also launched its Alipay business in the Asian nation last week, following a debut in the US earlier in the year.

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  • Shilla duty free opens mobile app, online mall for Japanese clients

    Shilla duty free opens mobile app, online mall for Japanese clients

    Shilla Duty Free has launched a mobile app and an Internet website mall targeting Japanese clients to offset the decline in Chinese tourists triggered by the missile defense system row between Seoul and Beijing.

    It is Shilla Duty Free’s second mobile shopping mall for foreigners after one opened for Chinese customers in 2014.
    Chinese travel agencies have in recent months suspended sales of tour packages to South Korea as part of the Beijing government’s retaliation against Seoul’s decision to station the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system on its soil. China believes the missile system undermines its security interest. South Korea has maintained that THAAD’s sole aim is to counter North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.

    Shilla’s mobile app store and Internet shopping mall allow Japanese customers to use Naver Corp.’s flagship LINE messenger to carry out transactions.
    LINE has become a major mobile messenger platform with more than 200 million users around the world. It has a strong presence in Japan.

    The duty-free shop will also invite 1,000 Japanese clients to a fan meeting of popular K-pop boy group SHINee, the shop’s commercial model, in Seoul on May 13. The number of Japanese tourists rose 25 percent last year from the previous year, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. The figure also surged 13 percent and 28 percent in January and February of this year from the same period in 2016.

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  • JD.com swings to profit first, revenues surge 41%

    JD.com swings to profit first, revenues surge 41%

    E-commerce giant JD.com said on Monday first-quarter revenues lifted 41% for fiscal 2017, as the second-biggest online retailer in China recorded its first profit as a publicly listed company.

    JD.com reported net income of 239 million yuan ($35 million) for the three months ended March — its first time in the black since listing in 2014. Sales rose 41 percent to 76.2 billion yuan, also topping the 73.6 billion yuan projected.

    JD, which bought Walmart’s Yihaodian local shopping platform in 2016, saw a rapid expansion into household supplies and food, as well as fashion and homewares during the last quarter, which increased users.

    JD also dipped into data, cloud and artificial intelligence services – moves that saw it swing to a profit from a loss in the previous quarter.

    “Margins benefited from our rapidly growing scale across all of our product categories,” JD’s chief financial officer, Sidney Huang, said in a statement.

    In November, JD.com said that it would seek to split off JD Finance, its financial unit, making it a fully Chinese-owned entity. The move allows JD to apply for licenses that Chinese laws forbid foreign-listed firms from holding, including mutual funds and securities. Under the restructuring, CEO Richard Liu will be one of the buyers and JD.com will receive 40% of any pre-tax profit.

    In the financial statement, JD forecast second-quarter revenues to lie between 86.6-89.1 million yuan excluding JD Finance, representing a growth rate of 33-37%, in line with analyst predictions of 36%.

    However, Huang cautioned future investments, such as the construction of warehouses, would “significantly increase” capital expenditure resulting in falling free cash flow.

    “Our quarterly earnings will likely be lower in one or more of the next few quarters,” he said. “The Chinese e-commerce market remains highly competitive and we remain committed to returning a meaningful portion of our incremental gains from scaled economies onto our customers.”

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  • Online shoppers use mobile phones more than computers

    Online shoppers use mobile phones more than computers

    Nearly 54 percent of online shoppers visited trading websites on mobile phones, higher than those accessing by desktop.

    The data was created from a survey of more than 27,000 client websites of Bizweb, an online commercial solutions platform.

    The results showed that 53.8 per cent of online shoppers visited trading websites on mobile phones, higher than those accessing by desktop (41.3 per cent), with the rest using tablets.

    For mobile phones, iPhone was the most popular device, accounting for more than 30 per cent.

    Mobile phones have become popular tools for shopping, meaning businesses and shop owners risk losing more than half of potential customers if the do not ultilise this channel, heard the meeting.

    In order to avert the situation, businesses need strategies to maximise sale opportunities on mobile channels, said Tran Trong Tuyen, CEO of DKT Technology JSC.

    Pham Thong, marketing director of Lazada Viet Nam, said that revenue from orders on mobile phones accounted for 70 per cent of Lazada’s orders.

    Thong said that there has been a shift of consumer habits. “The majority of young people are accessing the Internet by mobile phones”.

    Therefore, the development of e-commerce on mobile phones was indispensable, opening up opportunities for enterprises, said Thong.

    However, the Lazada representative also pointed out challenges that businesses might encounter such as services, tools and even the knowledge of the salesman about trading on mobiles.

    “Therefore, to succeed when selling on phones, businesses need to invest and have appropriate strategies for development,” he advised.

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  • SATS unveils a brand new US$21mn eCommerce AirHub

    SATS unveils a brand new US$21mn eCommerce AirHub

    SATS, a provider of Gateway Services and Food Solutions, unveiled its new eCommerce AirHub, at a ceremony officiated by S Iswaran, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry).

    The $21 million facility, co-funded by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), enhances Changi’s eCommerce mail sorting capability to support the growing eCommerce market. This new 6,000 sqm facility also features new innovations that will improve productivity and enable airport workers to acquire new skills.

    By deploying state-of-the-art technology, SATS has multiplied mailbag processing capacity by more than three times and streamlined the mail sortation process to deliver quicker turnaround for international eCommerce mail. Processing time is now reduced by 50 per cent. At the same time, automation has provided opportunity for employee upskilling. SATS is currently the only ground handler in the region to operate such an automated airside facility.

    Alex Hungate, president and CEO of SATS said, “eCommerce is expected to continue on its growth trajectory in the region and beyond with continued strong consumer demand. The SATS eCommerce AirHub enhances the competitiveness of the whole airfreight industry in Singapore by offering greater speed and transparency, as well as higher capacity to handle future growth.”

    Kevin Shum, director-general of CAAS, said, “CAAS is pleased to support the establishment of the eCommerce AirHub under the Aviation Development Fund. We are delighted that this initiative has enabled SATS staff to benefit from an enlarged job scope, higher pay, and a more comfortable and conducive workplace. Such collaborations are part of our efforts to transform Singapore Aviation, make the  2 sector more efficient and competitive, create better jobs and improve productivity using technology.”

    Tapping on technology for greater efficiency
    At the official opening of the SATS eCommerce AirHub this afternoon, the company unveiled several new innovations. These include a fully automated mail sortation system that increases the mailbag processing capacity of SATS to more than 1,800 an hour – up from 500 previously.

    Additionally, due to interface integration with SingPost’s airmail consignment operations and the facility’s locality within the free trade zone on the airside, mail sortation operation is streamlined to eliminate the need for mailbags to be transported to and from the hub.

    The combination of these factors has enabled faster mailbag processing that reduces turnaround time by 50 percent – from six hours to three – thus allowing international eCommerce mail to connect to an earlier flight for faster delivery.

    Traceability is also improved at the SATS eCommerce AirHub, as customers, such as SingPost, can now better track and trace their mail via the data interface, for example checking connection status by confirming arrival and departure times.

    Woo Keng Leong, chief executive officer, Postal Services, SingPost, said: “The improved efficiency and tracking from our collaboration with SATS will enhance SingPost’s international mail operations amid Singapore’s growing importance as an eCommerce logistics hub.”

    As well as improving service, SATS eCommerce AirHub will also be more productive: airmail consignment operations are targeted to be at least 30 per cent more efficient with full automation.

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  • Startup community lends a hand to women entrepreneurs in Vietnam

    Startup community lends a hand to women entrepreneurs in Vietnam

    Woomentum will launch its first event in Ho Chi Minh City to connect women-founded startups and investors.

    Woomentum, a Singapore-based startup community and crowdfunding platform, will launch its first event in Vietnam this month to support female entrepreneurs and their startups, by connecting them with investors and consultants.

    “CrowdFundHer Live!” will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on April 25 at Dreamplex 2, 195 Dien Bien Phu Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh District.

    The fourth CrowFundHer Live! event held in Singapore in June last year. Photo courtesy of Woomentum

    The fourth “CrowFundHer Live!” event held in Singapore in June last year.

    Six women-founded startups chosen for the event operate in different sectors including education, Internet of things, lifestyle, hi-tech agriculture and fintech. This is a chance for them to showcase their work and vision to investors, seek funding and see how experts respond to their products.

    Each of them will have eight minutes to present their projects and convince investors to back them. Woomentum will also facilitate discussions between the startups and interested investors.

    Guests include Adrian Tan, director of Vietnam Innovative Startup Accelerator (VIISA), Ngo Thuy Ngoc Tu, co-founder of YOLA Language Center, Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Vice President of the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM), Violet Lim, CEO of Lunch Actually, and Michael Blakey, managing partner of Cocoon Capital, a renowned investor in UK.

    Woomentum had organized four “CrowdFundHer Live” events in Singapore with support from Bloomberg, Google, the Hub Singapore and other organizations.

    Thanks to such events, which drew 600 attendants, 23 tech startups have received S$200,000 ($143,200).

    For the upcoming event in Vietnam, Woomentum will work with the Vietnam E-commerce Association, Startup Vietnam Foundation, Mat Bao Corporation, Baker McKenzie, Citylinks, VnExpress, among others.

    Startups with Mouna Aouri (sitting), CEO of Woomentum. Photo courtesy of Woomentum

    Startups with Mouna Aouri (sitting), CEO of Woomentum.

    Founder Mouna Aouri said Woomentum will make its official debut in Vietnam this summer, offering opportunities for startups with female founders to approach new knowledge, access capital and receive valuable feedback to create better products. The April event will also allow members of the startup community to share their ideas.

    She said Woomentum wants to work as a bridge to link Vietnamese startups with investors, entrepreneurs and consultants in Southeast Asia and more importantly, to connect male and female entrepreneurs.

    Women are the emerging power of the economy in Asia, she said, adding that once they get access to technology and a good environment, female entrepreneurs will become an undeniable force.

      Program  
      6:30 p.m.

    7:00 p.m.

    7:30 p.m.

    9:30 p.m.

    9:30-10:30 p.m.

     Opening

     Exchange of startups, investors and Vietnamese entrepreneurs

     Fundraising

     Presentation of startups and results

     Entertainment

    Click here for tickets.

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  • Card payment compulsory soon for e-commerce businesses in Vietnam

    Card payment compulsory soon for e-commerce businesses in Vietnam

    E-commerce businesses may have to accept card payments as a way to offering more options of payment when shopping online, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Trade said.

    Võ Văn Quyền, director of the ministry’s Domestic Market Department, was quoted as saying that the department was studying amendments to e-commerce business which might include regulations about compulsory payment methods.

    Accordingly, accepting card payment might be compulsory for e-commerce firms.

    Việt Nam Banking Card Association’s statistics showed that e-commerce payments had seen breakthrough developments in 2012-16 period.

    Payment values by domestic-payment cards jumped 597 per cent and by international cards by 319 per cent in the five-year period.

    As of the end of 2016, payments by the former were worth totally VNĐ3.44 quadrillion (US$150.9 billion) so far and the latter by VNĐ13.4 quadrillion.

    The values are expected to increase rapidly if accepting card payment is made compulsory for e-commerce transactions.

    The ministry’s Department of E-Commerce and Information Technology in March said that e-commerce was growing rapidly in Việt Nam where 90 per cent of population had smart phones which were used at an average 24.7 hours online per week. On average, each Vietnamese used $160 for shopping online per year.

    However, according to the Payment Department under the State Bank of Vietnam, the payment infrastructure in the country remained under-developed and the ratio of online payment in e-commerce remained modest.

    The banking sector would improve the legal framework for e-payment while developing the infrastructure for card payment. In addition, security for online payments must be improved.

    Race for cashless payment, fintech

    Developing cashless payment methods inVietnam had significant room. The Government ofVietnam in a cashless payment project from 2016 to 2020 set a goal that only 10 per cent of transactions in the economy were made in cash.

    A recent survey by Visa Vietnam showed that Vietnamese were now on a trend of using less cash in payment with the ratio of cash payment dropping from 46 per cent in 2015 to 38 per cent last year together with improved trust in electronic payment.

    The survey found that there were 67.4 million banking accounts inVietnam as of 2016, significant increase compared to 16.8 million in 2014 but card payment accounted for just 3 per cent of personal consumption spending in six major cities. Only 50 per cent of e-commerce payment were conducted by card.

    Statistics of the Vietnam Banking Card Association showed that transactions at ATMs were mainly cash withdrawals (86.8 per cent of revenues conducted by domestic payment cards), reflecting the popularity of cash.

    The booming of e-commerce would drive cashless payments inVietnam.

    E-commerce was forecast to grow at 20 per cent per year to reach a revenue of $10 billion by 2020. The Department of e-Commerce and Information Technology said that the e-commerce revenue could be higher as currently the growth rate had reached 25 per cent.

    The association said that digital banking was also gaining popularity together with the application of tokenisation in improving security.

    There were 92.08 million domestic payment cards and 12 million international payment cards in 2016, the association’s statistics showed.

    Vietnam is also seeing a wave of fintech start-ups to promote cashless payment.

  • Central bank to launch app for monitoring food prices

    Central bank to launch app for monitoring food prices

    Bank Indonesia (BI) plans to launch a mobile app through which the public and regional administrations can monitor harga pangan (the prices of staple foods) on a daily basis.

    The public would be able to use the app to avoid being deceived, while the regional administrations can use it to observe when prices go too high so they can tackle them faster.

    The public can already download the app or use it on the hargapangan.id website, but it has not been officially launched.

    The program managed by the Information Center for Strategic Food Prices (PIHPS) collects data from traditional markets in 82 cities in all 34 provinces in the country for 10 commodities: rice, shallots, garlic, red chili, birdseye chili, beef, chicken, eggs, sugar and vegetable oil.

    “The PIHPS has been running, but we’ll wait for the official launch,” Dody Budi Waluyo, the BI governor’s assistant for monetary and economic policy, said recently.

    “BI keeps improving the program. We’ll also collect prices not only from traditional markets, but also from modern markets; also maybe from big traders and touch on more commodities, as well as prices at the producers’ level. The point is we keep innovating with this,” he added.

    Previously, BI deputy governor Sugeng told the media that the central bank also plans to create a data system to track supplies of staple foods in the regions.

    All the aforementioned systems were developed so BI and the government could come up with better policies to achieve a 4 to 5 percent inflation rate.

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  • DHL eCommerce expands presence in South China

    DHL eCommerce expands presence in South China

    DHL eCommerce plans to further increase its presence in South China through the introduction of its e-commerce logistics services in the Fujian province.

    The company has also announced the expansion of its Shenzhen Distribution Center and Hong Kong Distribution Center to manage a capacity of 81 million shipments a year.

    “With exports expected to make up 75% of China’s e-commerce turnover three years from now, a strong and reliable logistics framework has to be set in place to meet growing needs,” said Zhi Zheng, Managing Director, Greater China, DHL eCommerce. “Manufacturing and export hubs like Fujian will be the center stage of all future growth of e-commerce exports in China. DHL’s expertise in international shipping and fulfillment, along with our global network and strong e-commerce expertise will play a fundamental role in connecting China’s e-tailers with online markets across the world.”

    Zheng added: “We are expanding our presence in South China to better service merchants here, and provide them with the opportunity to tap on the massive cross-border opportunity. This underpins our growth strategy for South China where we will focus on growing our outbound e-commerce trade and continue to expand our offerings across Tier 2 and 3 cities.”

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  • Courts Singapore Looks to Tackle Southeast Asia’s Growing E-commerce Market

    Courts Singapore Looks to Tackle Southeast Asia’s Growing E-commerce Market

    Courts has recently unveiled its plans to capitalize on the growth of e-commerce in Southeast Asia by rebuilding its online business, originally launched in 2012 with an offering of 7,000 products that has increased to 14,000 today, through a partnership with premier e-commerce agency SmartOSC.

    Under these new plans, Courts will further penetrate into Singapore’s growing e-commerce market, which is estimated to reach US$6.42 billion by 2020, according to research firm Statista.

    Known as a Singapore based retailer specialising in furniture and consumer electronics, from its initial establishment, Courts has seen growth throughout Southeast Asia, most notably in Malaysia and Indonesia.  In April 2016, the business revamped its traditional brick and mortar stores to engage with customers more effectively – the two offline “testbeds” opened in Causeway Point, Singapore and Sri Damansara, Malaysia. As a result of that,  in parallel with an expected boost in productivity from traditional retail stores, the brand now looks at radically reshaping its e-commerce business, moving towards an integrated shopping experience both in-store and online.

    Stan Kim, Court’s Group CIO, explained that their strategy is really about creating an omni-channel experience for customers. The limitations of the current e-commerce framework, including extending functionalities, handling the increasing amount of visitors, as well as personalising the shopping experience, do not fit into the overall commerce strategy.

    “We were looking for partners who not only have technical expertise but more importantly understands how e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores work together to create a seamless experience for modern shoppers. SmartOSC is a perfect match given their experience in building connected commerce solutions for top retailers, and their capability has been recognized by Magento as the platform’s enterprise solutions partner,” explained Stan Kim.

    Built upon the Magento Enterprise 2.0, combined with innovative technologies for omni-channel, marketing automation, and content management, Courts is looking to establish a new industry-standard for mobile first and user-centric experience. A real-time single view of inventory and customer profiles is activated through integrations with ERP and retail management systems. The brand will also enhance the click and collect offering, which is currently contributing about  50% of Courts’ online sales.

    The platform has also been architected to accompany and facilitate future expansion plans, ready for easier roll-out to other regional markets. Although Southeast Asia’s e-commerce is still in its infancy (relative to European and North American markets), it is expected to grow 32% year on year. The region is currently estimated to be worth $5.5 billion and expected to reach $88 billion by 2025, according to a report by Google and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek.

    When asked for a statement on the partnership, Stan Kim commented “We’ve been working closely with SmartOSC to ensure an integrated and smooth transition to the new platform. We’re very excited with the current progress – SmartOSC’s depth of knowledge in e-commerce, resource scalability and innovative development has helped us realize our omni-channel potential. We cannot wait to launch this to the public.”

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  • Amazon Ready to Launch in the Philippines

    Amazon Ready to Launch in the Philippines

    Amazon with exclusive affiliate partner iPrice Philippines premieres the first screenshots of the all new and exciting online shopping platform: Amazon.ph. Slated to be launched late 2017, millions of local and international products will be made available to Filipinos with same-day delivery service throughout the nation.  Maintaining the ethos of Amazon, the new e-commerce platform in the Philippines will be guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking.

    Partnering Amazon in this new endeavor is iPrice, a meta-search website in seven major countries in Southeast Asia as Amazon’s prime affiliate partner. With similar values and vision for ecommerce in Southeast Asia, iPrice’s partnership with Amazon will empower the Seattle based company with the needed marketing channels to aggressively market its products and services to the competitive ecommerce sector.

    Further details of Amazon’s affiliate partnership with iPrice will be revealed at the annual AWS Summit on 20th of April 2017 at the Marriott Hotel Grand Ballroom in Manila. Here is an exclusive screenshot of Amazon.ph.

    The Baguio Barrel Man

    Often seen as the souvenir of choice of most travelers, the Barrel Man offers more than just it’s barrel. Handcrafted from tropical wood unique only to the Philippines, the Barrel Man is a figure that is built of quality material and has the magical powers suited to relieve men of their physiological and psychological barriers.

    Amazon.ph and the Baguio Barrel Man was reviewed by test audiences prior to launch. It assisted in saving a marriage, and restoring one’s manhood.

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  • Lazada on mission to spur e-commerce

    Lazada on mission to spur e-commerce

    As Lazada celebrates its fifth year in the Philippines, the people behind Southeast Asia’s largest online marketplace are embarking on a mission: to make the country one of the “dominant players” in the global e-commerce industry.

    “In terms of Facebook penetration, the Philippines is No. 1 in the world. There are 57 million Facebook accounts—why shouldn’t the same thing apply to e-commerce?” says Inanc Balci, cofounder and CEO of Lazada Philippines. “So we’re now on a mission to make Philippines a dominant player in the world when it comes to e-commerce penetration.”

    Balci cited Taiwan as having the highest percentage of online retail sales at 18 percent; the Philippines, on the other, hand, is only at 1 to 2 percent. “Buying online is as easy as getting an account on Facebook; sometimes easier, because you don’t need an e-mail account for some websites. The Philippines can have a much higher percentage of e-commerce penetration than that of Taiwan,” Balci says.

    Other factors also come into play when it comes to the Philippines’ strong potential in e-commerce, adds Balci. “The middle class is growing very fast; the economy is doing really well among other nations in Asia; there is a very young population; smartphone penetration is higher than any other country in Southeast Asia.”

    As a treat to its customers, Lazada held a birthday sale last March 21-23. These kinds of events, says Balci, are also a form of investment for the company when it comes to addressing one of the three main challenges in the local ecommerce industry: general market size. Promos and special deals allow Lazada to attract new customers and further grow the business, says Balci.

    The other two issues, he adds, are payments and logistics. To address the latter, the company formed its own logistics arm called Lazada Express. “That has, today, 70 percent coverage nationwide, and we are continuing to push it even more,” says Balci. “We are also looking toward improving the payments landscape. There is only about 5 percent credit-card penetration which makes it difficult to transact online, so Lazada was the first to launch nationwide cash on delivery. Not a lot of companies are doing this because it’s a costly way of doing business, but for us to grow, we need to invest.”

    Lazada was initially established in the Philippines as an online retailer selling electronic goods.

    The company then “pivoted” its business strategy in 2014, says Balci, shifting its model to an online marketplace, which was “one of the biggest accelerators” of its growth.

    “Now our business model is a cross of retail marketplace and cross-border marketplace, which is similar to a local marketplace but the merchants are from other countries in the region,” Balci explains.

    As Lazada and the country’s e-commerce industry continue to grow, so does competition—something which Balci welcomes with open arms.

    “It’s always better for the market to have competition to keep you on your toes. We believe that for the market to grow much faster, we need better, healthier competition,” he says.

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