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Small and medium enterprises in the Philippines have yet to fully tap the potential of e-commerce, according to a white paper released by the Ninja Van Group
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Close to half of Filipino social commerce sellers, or 46%, were found to be struggling to create and curate content for their pages
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More than two out of five, or 41%, said they found it challenging to stay on top of the platform’s algorithms. They are, therefore, unable to fully capitalize on the platform to stand out
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600 social commerce sellers from six Asean countries were surveyed, namely the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam
Small and medium enterprises in the Philippines have yet to fully tap the potential of e-commerce, but the potential for success is within reach.
So says a white paper released by the Ninja Van Group, one of Southeast Asia’s leading tech-enabled express logistics companies.
Along with market research firm Milieu Insight, the Ninja Group recently surveyed 600 social commerce sellers from six Asean countries, namely the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Ninja Van Group’s analysis of the survey results found that social commerce sellers face the same operational challenges faced by all sellers in other online platforms.
There is, however, one caveat. The analysis says, “Social commerce presents entirely new challenges for sellers wishing to harness this platform’s potential for business growth.”
According to Sabina Lopez-Vergara, chief commercial officer of Ninja Van Philippines, “On top of the quantitative survey conducted with Millieu Insight, we also consulted some of our social commerce sellers to find out how to tackle these challenges.”
By consolidating the insights and solutions into the white paper, they hope to equip sellers “for a more adept navigation of social commerce,” she said.
Close to half of Filipino social commerce sellers, or 46%, were found to be struggling to create and curate content for their pages. This trend is reflected across the region.
Meanwhile, more than two out of five, or 41%, said they found it challenging to stay on top of the platform’s algorithms. They are, therefore, unable to fully capitalize on the platform to stand out.
Winston Seow, group marketing officer for the Ninja Van Group, said: “The process of uncovering challenges that social commerce sellers face not only enables us to refine our existing tools, like our suite of digital solutions.”
It also helps them add new tools to their toolbox, he added, such as their suite of full-funnel marketing solutions “for sellers who wish to sell better.”
Filipino sellers were found to take advantage of social commerce platforms’ ability to reach more customers by selling around three different product categories, namely food and beverage; fashion; and beauty or personal care.
Compared to other markets, more Filipino sellers said social commerce allows them to quickly learn if products will be successful or not.
They were found to turn to social commerce platforms for their already captive audience, but still face challenges in creating effective content as well as chasing the constantly changing, often elusive platform algorithms.
