As an industry that connects the country and levels the playing field, e-commerce empowers businesses—especially MSMEs and startups—to build their direct-to-consumer platform.
To help entrepreneurs get ahead of the curve and set them up for success, LOCAD CEO and co-founder Constantin Robertz revealed important trends in their seminal whitepaper “Key E-Commerce Trends of 2022” and discussed these during the E-Commerce Trends 2022: What Online Entrepreneurs Need to Know event held recently.
For example, customer expectations are going through the roof with more money than ever before being spent online and direct-to-consumer (D2C) presence in ASEAN consistently growing. According to Robertz, there are a few important factors that businesses going into e-commerce should look at to draw in customers.
“We are looking for four things. It starts with a great product and a great price. And then it’s about making people know about your product. And the third one is the customer experience, end-to-end. Then the back-end work wherein you’re doing all these things. That is what e-commerce is,” he shared.
He also said that e-commerce is vital to SMEs by freeing them to focus on their core offerings. As an e-commerce enabler, cloud logistics network LOCAD lets entrepreneurs allot their time to marketing and pursuing growth opportunities.
Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) – Philippine Trade and Training Center (PTTC)’s Executive Director Nelly Dillera laid down the need to tech up the MSMEs in the country while creating a secure and credible e-commerce ecosystem that they can use with full confidence.
“The holy grail of e-commerce is to trade beyond traditional borders, outside of the regular domain, starting locally, then moving nationally, regionally, and globally. These movements serve as the ultimate test of retail, digital, or online,” Dillera said.
Other keynote speakers also shared their insights and experiences related to utilizing e-commerce to grow their respective businesses.
Nuprene Brand Manager James Fernando who mentioned the significance of fulfillment in meeting customer expectations. “Fulfillment if not done well, could definitely be a really difficult situation for any business—whether it’s a big or a small one. For small businesses, a good experience in terms of ordering online results in repeat purchases, and if you don’t have repeat purchases, your customer acquisition cost goes up,” he said.
On the other hand, Manila Athletica CEO Aencille Santos emphasized the need to position online shopping as a “full experience.” She cites as an example the reviews on major online shopping sites that are peppered with customers lauding the courier or the rider who delivered their orders.
In conclusion, Robertz said that it is very important that entrepreneurs focus their time and attention on what moves a needle for their business. They also have to find partners, platforms, and support for the areas that they don’t really necessarily need to focus on.
