What you need to know about ecommerce in Asia

eCommerce is a rapidly expanding market in Asia, with a growth rate in revenue of approximately 10.7% per annum according to Statista. This is largely down to the expansion of the middle classes in the region as well as strong economic gains in China. The region also sees some of the highest mobile penetration rates on the planet, giving them easy access to online shopping opportunities. Each market has its own nuances, however, and it is important to know what these are if your store is to have an edge. This article highlights some of the major factors that eCommerce operators in the region will need to take into consideration.

The rise of mobile-commerce in Asia

Southeast Asia has the 2^nd highest mobile connectivity in the world at 129% (more than 100% because some people have multiple subscriptions). In comparison, even the United States has mobile connectivity of 105%.  Both e-commerce and mobile-commerce are rising in Asia and the sector sees more and more brands entering the markets, trying to compete against the major platforms in the regions such as Lazada, Alibaba, Taobao, Ebay or Amazon.

In Asia, three markets are rising at the moment, according to We Are Social but note that Indonesia is also one of the fastest growing one.

• China:
  • Mobile Connectivity = 109%.
  • Mobile Users = 54%.
  • eCommerce Value = 1.003 billion USD.
  • eCommerce Growth Rate = 1.7% per annum.
• Thailand:
  • Mobile Connectivity = 133%.
  • Mobile Users = 79%.
  • eCommerce Value = 37.5 million USD.
  • eCommerce Growth Rate = 6.5% per annum.
• The Philippines:
  • Mobile Connectivity = 116%.
  • Mobile Users = 67%.
  • eCommerce Value = 47.30 million USD.
  • eCommerce Growth rate = 3.5% per annum.

With these statistics in mind, it makes sense to ensure that your eCommerce store is geared up for use on mobile devices. Some of the best ways to achieve this include:

• Ensuring it is optimised for mobile and responsive design is the way to go.
• Make the navigation menu easy to use and offer search and browse options.
• Provide image zooming capability.
• Streamline the checkout process for mobile purposes.
• Make sure CTAs are located in areas that are easy to reach.

Social media habits in Asia

Social media usage can also have quite an impact on eCommerce. Southeast Asia sees a lot of social media use, with around 34% of the population logging in regularly.

Thailand, in particular, sees heavy social media use, with around 57% of the population logging in daily. Thais also use social media a great deal when it comes to online shopping, with approximately 40% of all eCommerce sales coming through a social media platform. This is worth approximately 5 Billion USD.

In China, many eCommerce stores use WeChat to acquire and retain customers. The social media app has more than 1 billion users and acts as a focal point for marketing in the country. This is also largely down to the many features that the app offers that help eCommerce stores to communicate with and service their customers.

eCommerce stores in the region also tend to utilize key opinion leader (KOLs) whenever they get the chance. KOLs on social media have huge audiences in Asia. These are experts, even celebrities, that are known to be an authority in their field. Having your products or your store endorsed by the right KOL can generate an instant and significant boom in sales.

Such is the importance of social media for eCommerce stores in the region, that some 95% of eCommerce store owners in Thailand consider social media to be an important, even essential, platform. To help store owners cope with the large numbers of people using social media, many have incorporated sophisticated chatbots. Not only can this help to process customer service enquiries, but they can also even help to process payments.

Search engines in China

Something else that eCommerce store owners need to take into consideration is that some countries tend to use different search engines than others. This is especially the case in China.

For example, while Google is the predominant search engine throughout much of the world, it only holds a share of around 3.2% in China. Baidu is the dominant search engine here, holding approximately 77% of the market and that’s something to take into consideration if you plan to make e-commerce SEO the main focus to drive traffic to your e- platform in China.

This is significant because there are differences between how each search engine operates, perhaps the most significant being that Baidu is not particularly effective when it comes to English language searches.

This means you will need a Chinese language version of your store. Other differences between Google and Baidu include:

• Hosting: Google provides equal standing for websites regardless of where they are hosted. Baidu, however, gives priority for those hosted in China. If you wish to enter the Chinese eCommerce market, you will need to select your host accordingly.
• Domain Name: While Baidu does not seem to give a priority to .cn websites, using such extension will be an asset to give confidence to your targets.
• Backlinks: Both Google and Baidu place a lot of value in quality, relevant backlinks. Baidu, however, gives priority to backlinks on Chinese sites.
• Keyword Density: Keyword stuffing is likely to lead to penalties from Google. Baidu is less stringent on a high keyword density, however, that might bother your visitors so it’s not advised to use that trick.
• Ranking Time: Listing on Google will often take weeks. For Baidu, it takes even longer. This is largely down to the Chinese government’s stricter policies.

While the eCommerce sector in Southeast Asia is vast, there are also many vendors, making it very competitive. This means that, in order to be successful, eCommerce store owners will need to adapt to the market they are operating in. This includes taking advantage of promotion opportunities such as QR codes that are also very popular in the region.

Also follow some of the advice above, and you are well on your way to becoming a serious contender in the Southeast Asian eCommerce sector.