Southeast Asia E-Commerce Market Report Released
Recently, the Southeast Asian express delivery company Ninja Van Group and DPD Group jointly released the 2021 Southeast Asia E-commerce Market Report. The report provides a detailed breakdown of the buying habits of consumers in the region, from order to delivery. The main highlights of the report are as follows:
1. The average number of online shopping per year reaches 66 times
Since the epidemic, the number of online shoppers in Southeast Asia has experienced explosive growth. So far, the number of new e-commerce consumers has reached about 70 million, and this number is expected to exceed 380 million by 2026. In terms of the average number of online purchases per year, consumers in Vietnam made the most online purchases with an average of 104 times, followed by Thailand (75 times), Singapore and the Philippines (58 times), Indonesia (52 times) and Malaysia ( 46 times), consumers in the six Southeast Asian countries make an average of about 66 online purchases per year.
According to the report, Vietnam now accounts for 15% of the total online shopping market in Southeast Asia, on a par with the Philippines and second only to Thailand at 16%. From the performance of multiple sets of data, it can be seen that Vietnamese people are very fond of online shopping.
In addition, the report states that “Hunting for sale” is the main motivation for consumers in Southeast Asia to shop online, with 72% of respondents saying it helps them save money, and free shipping is the most effective way to encourage consumers in the region.
When making purchasing decisions, consumers in this region show a heavy reliance on product reviews, and the proportion of consumers posting feedback after shopping is even as high as 94%.
2. More than half of consumers have made cross-border shopping
As Southeast Asian consumers become more accustomed to online shopping, online shopping through cross-border channels has also become their choice. According to the report, more than 50% of the respondents had the experience of purchasing goods from foreign websites. At the same time, the number of people participating in cross-border online shopping is expected to increase further in the future.
In addition to buying directly from neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, more consumers will choose to shop on websites in the Asia-Pacific region, such as mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
As a result of this new shopping habit, online retailers need to not only serve consumers in their own country or region, but also target their customer base as far as possible beyond national borders. In addition, cross-border logistics is still an urgent problem for cross-border e-commerce sellers. Only 1⁄3 of consumers believe that cross-border logistics and delivery processes are simple and transparent, which shows that there is still room for further improvement in this area.
(Photo Ninja Van Group × DPDGroup, E-commerce Barometer Report 2021)
3. 80% of consumers prefer home delivery
Unlike offline shopping, online shopping does not end until the consumer receives the package. As the final stage of online shopping, package delivery has a crucial impact on the overall shopping experience of consumers.
According to the survey, nearly 80% of consumers in Southeast Asia would prefer to have their goods delivered directly to their homes, with delivery to the workplace being the second choice for buyers.
(Photo Ninja Van Group × DPDGroup, E-commerce Barometer Report 2021)
Many respondents also expressed a desire for real-time tracking of delivered packages, as such services help them obtain detailed information about package shipments, including real-time package status and estimated delivery time. Not only that, but most consumers want to know which courier will handle the delivery of their packages, and there are many reasons for this.
Specifically, 56% of people want to choose a service provider that can provide relevant delivery service commitments; 51% of people want to choose a service provider that can provide delivery guarantees; 38% of people want to choose a service provider that can provide environmentally friendly delivery solutions; 35 % prefer service providers they recognize or prefer, and 35% want to avoid service providers they have had unpleasant encounters with before.
(Photo Ninja Van Group × DPDGroup, E-commerce Barometer Report 2021)
For cross-border e-commerce sellers, research on the characteristics and preferences of consumer groups is of great significance. Continuously matching and upgrading services according to consumers’ shopping habits is an important factor that affects sellers’ localized operations and improved conversions.