E-commerce sales in the Asia Pacific region are likely to nearly double by the mid part of the decade, reaching a value of $2 trillion (€1.63 trillion), according to a new report from Euromonitor International.
According to the Top 100 Retailers in Asia 2021 report, Asia Pacific is expected to see significant retail sales growth over the 2020-2025 period, with digitalisation, connectivity and demographics helping to drive the region's shift towards becoming an innovation hub.
“As consumers connect and shop online more than ever, an increasing number of brands are expected to tap into social media to virtually engage and build trust with consumers in addition to serving as retailtainment”, commented Deepika Chandrasekar, senior research analyst at Euromonitor International.
Businesses saw a 37.6% increase in online orders last year, driven by both the COVID-19 pandemic and a growing cohort of tech-savvy consumers, and this is expected to reach 44% by 2025, according to Euromonitor.
Social Commerce
“Livestreaming experienced an explosive growth in 2020 in tech-advanced markets," added Quan Yao Peh, research analyst at Euromonitor International. "Countries like China and emerging economies in Southeast Asia including Indonesia and the Philippines witnessed a surge in social commerce through WhatsApp, Instagram and Viber."
With the retail landscape becoming increasingly competitive, and key players fighting to stay relevant in the digital space, localising the shopping journey to individual markets and personalising the retail experience to various customer segments will be 'essential' in the Asia Pacific market, according to Euromonitor.
Asia's biggest online player, Alibaba Group, reported a 72% increase in commerce revenue in its most recent quarter, powered by growing adoption of e-commerce. The business did, however, report its first operating loss since going public, following a recent anti-monopoly fine.
The full report can be downloaded here. https://bit.ly/2Skrh55
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. For more Technology news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
