In an effort to promote online shopping in the country, the Department of Trade and Industry together with major e-commerce players and digital industry leaders came together in a forum entitled “Gearing Up for Pinoy E-Commerce” recently held at the Discovery Primea in Makati City.
A host of speeches and panel discussions weighed in on the impact of e-commerce and how it is transforming Filipino consumer behavior and experiences. Ken Lingan, Country Head of Google Philippines cited “As the Philippines becomes increasingly mobile-first, we also see a massive change in the way Pinoys shop. We now see the emergence of "Micro-Moments" that occur throughout the consumer journey which influence brand preference and purchase decisions.”
With almost 50 million Filipinos online, the projected sales from the e-commerce industry for the year is at over a billion dollars, making it a sizeable contributor to the country’s economic growth. Inanc Balci, CEO of Lazada Philippines emphasized the incessant need to address challenges involving logistics, payments, and market conditions, “We need all hands together to increase the e-commerce penetration in the Philippines and this includes the government, private sector and consumers”. ZALORA Philippines Marketing Director, Tolian Gjika primarily discussed how the tremendous growth of digital, specifically through mobile devices, is creating in the Philippines new opportunities for everyone: from customers, to e-commerce companies, to traditional brands. He shared how ZALORA, Asia's Online Fashion Destination, is helping to promote online shopping by creating a compelling end-to-end customer experience.
The forum serves as a kickoff for the very first Pinoy Cyber Sale (www.pinoycybersale.com), a unified online sale event where over 20 e-commerce players in the country will be showcasing attractive deals and discounts slated on November 27-30. Participating websites include merchants in retail, travel, and services. The sale coincides with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the biggest online retail shopping days in the United States. DTI Undersecretary Dr. Prudencio Reyes states “I am confident that this initiative of drawing together all major facets of the e-commerce industry would be a good venue for the consumer to enhance their awareness and boost their confidence in online shopping as it presents legitimate e-commerce players in a consortium website where members are bound to provide a ‘one-stop solution’ offering more creative marketing methods; ethical advertising; sets out consumers’ needs; and promotes consumer protection above all.”
The Pinoy Cyber Sale is launched in partnership with the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), Dragonpay, Hellopay, and the Digital Commerce Association of the Philippines (DCOM), and is co-presented by Globe Telecom.
Participating merchants and their offers can be viewed on www.pinoycybersale.com . Merchants include Lazada, Zalora, Foodpanda, Ensogo, Shopee, Goods, Xend Business Solutions, Shopinas, Weemall, AVA.ph, Reloved, Island Rose, Azalea Residences, Best Western Antel, Ellana Minerals, Mimaropa Ventures, One Network E-Commerce, Shopback, and Takatack. The Pinoy Cyber Sale is poised to become an annual online shopping event in the Philippines.
