Hong Kong Industrialist Aug Oct 2021

Capturing the Southeast Asia’s e-Commerce Market with Growing Female Participation 拓展東南亞電商 女性影響力不容忽視 T he COVID-19 has prompted expedite growth in e-Commerce, especially in Southeast Asia where physical retail business has been less dominant. Asia Pacific’s e-commerce sales are expected to reach US$2 trillion by 2025, according to the market research company Euromonitor International in 2020. By then, 44% of businesses in the region will receive orders online. In the “e-Conomy SEA” report co-published by Google, Temasek and Bain & Co., Southeast Asians spend more time on instant message and e-Commerce on mobile phones than people of other regions, while the Internet economy in India and Vietnam grows by 40% annually. Nevertheless, when entering Southeast Asia markets, manufacturers must take into account the consumers’ preferences which are vastly different from Hong Kong and mainland China, including the choice of e-Commerce platforms, product types, digital payment tools, live broadcast platforms and preferences in customer services. The rapid growth of e-Commerce in Southeast Asia also opened up opportunities for female entrepreneurs in the region. In the report “Women and E-commerce in Southeast Asia” conducted by International Finance Corporation, e-Commerce platforms reduced the barriers traditionally faced by female in entering the business. Nowadays, female entrepreneurs account for close to half of all the active e-Commerce merchants in the Southeast Asia. On the other hand, marketing to female consumers is the key to success in emerging e-Commerce markets. Under the pandemic, female is more likely to search for new e-Commerce merchants and there’s a higher chance for them to make second purchase. Hong Kong businesses should pay extra attention to female’s participation as they pursue new markets in Southeast Asia. 新 冠肺炎疫情促使了電商業務爆發式增長，在本身實體零售較不成熟的東南亞地區，電商消費的增長就更強 勁。根據市調公司歐睿國際2020年所撰寫的報告顯示，亞太地區的零售電商售額將在五年內飆升一倍至 2 兆美元；到 2025 年，亞太地區 44% 的企業都會透過網路接收訂單。Google、淡馬錫及貝恩公司聯合發布的《東 南亞數字經濟報告》亦提及，東南亞人比其他地區更依賴手機訊息溝通和網上購物，印度和越南的互聯網經濟以 每年40%的速度增長。然而，廠商在開拓東南亞市場時應注意當地文化和使用習慣的差異，例如在網購平台、產品 種類、電子支付工具、直播平台、客戶服務要求等，都與香港或內地市場不同，廠商必須入鄉隨俗。 東南亞電商的高速增長，亦帶動了女性企業家的發展機會。國際金融公司 (International Finance Corporation) 的 《東南亞婦女與電子商務》報告指，電商減少了女性開展事業面對的障礙，現時女性佔在東南亞所有活躍的電子 商務銷售商近一半。女性客戶營銷將是新興電商市場的增長關鍵，隨著疫情影響，女性客戶較多搜尋新網店，續購 比例亦較大。香港企業在進軍東南亞時，不妨多留意女性在市場上的參與。 Deputy Chairman 副主席 Karen Chan 陳嘉賢 8-10/2021 | 15