eCommerce Landscape & Opportunities 2020 and Beyond

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eCommerce-Landscape-Opportunities-2020-and-Beyond!

Amid the global pandemic, it’s becoming more and more important for businesses around the world to adapt to a changed business landscape. Change is a good thing as change means opportunities.

In this important blog post, we’re pleased to discuss the eCommerce Landscape 2020 and Beyond, and of course, the opportunities created during this unprecedented time and how businesses can make full use of several important platforms and services to overcome challenges and gain success.

Malaysia-eCommerce-Landscape-2020
Malaysia eCommerce Landscape 2020

 

B2B: Alibaba – Leading the Mainstream Platform

Alibaba emerges as the leading mainstream platform for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) in Asia including Malaysia.

According to Robert (2020), there is rapid revenue growth in Alibaba from 34 per cent to US$21.762 billion in the June quarter. Alibaba plays an important role in the home market from the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.

 

B2C: Online Shopping Platforms On The Rise

The new norm pushes Malaysians to shop online. It became a new business trend and business model that is important for each industry’s survival and expansion.

Studies suggest that consumer behaviour influences the demand for eCommerce. This behaviour is largely attributed to the lack of availability of products and services at the physical store, making customers become more dependent on e-commerce platforms for shopping.

The 4 Online Shopping Platforms that are gaining momentum in a lighting speed in this unprecedented time are:

(1) Marketplaces; (2) E-tailers; (3) eCommerce Platforms; (4) Managed eCommerce

Shopee – Leading the Southeast Asia Marketplace

According to Statista (2020), Shopee leads the Malaysia e-commerce marketplace in the first quarter of 2020 as the most clicked e-commerce site in the country, followed by Lazada and Lelong. With the results of almost 27 million clicks, Shopee became the new leader in the online marketplace not only in Malaysia but across Southeast Asia.

Lotus’s (Tesco) – The Largest Grocery E-Tailer

Lotus’s (previously known as Tesco) as Malaysia’s Largest Essential Grocery E-tailer introduced the Online Ordering System backed by an efficient Delivery service that fulfils the consumer needs in the new norm, followed by MYDIN and Sunshine.

IKEA, with the slogan ‘Home Design In Yourself’ encourages New Proprietors to design their home in the new norm. SenHeng, the company that owns the largest online electrical appliance store in Malaysia, on the other hand, has created the most convenient way for customers to get the electrical appliance through their e-commerce site.

SiteGiant vs. EasyStore: The Most Powerful & eCommerce Platform Giants

As the shopping behaviour changes, SiteGiant and EasyStore rapidly emerge as the two largest and leading e-commerce software service providers in Malaysia.

Many business owners are looking for a platform that provides a simplified, cost-effective and convenient DIY (Design It Yourself) solution for their e-commerce store/business. Shopify comes in second place, followed by 91APP, Avana and more.

Exabytes – Managed eCommerce New Penetrator

Exabytes, an online business veteran with over 20 years of experience was quick to penetrate the market. The company is now offering personalized managed eCommerce services to many new startups and traditional businesses aspire to take their business online.

When it comes to the top/most managed eCommerce service provider in Malaysia, Exabytes comes in the first place, followed by 91APP and ClickApp.

Digital Marketing: New & Trending & Essential Business Strategies

In the age of technology (and in this unprecedented time), consumers spend most of their time on mobile, tablets and laptops. They constantly check out the latest news online, and frequent social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and many more.

With these dramatic changes in consumer behaviour, Traditional and Offline Marketing seems no longer effective especially for eCommerce industry players to target their customers.

In this regard, Digital Marketing solutions such as Digital Ads (Google Ads, Facebook Ads etc), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) etc have become a much better channel to target potential customers based on the current and trending consumer behaviour and interest.

Exabytes who has a strong footing in this industry and SearchGuru have penetrated this market focusing on providing the most effective solutions to generate more sales leads and conversions, especially for e-commerce players.

All of us are surrounded by sponsored ads on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube every day. Although Digital Marketing will not be the only option for business owners, it is definitely one of the most essential business strategies when it comes to business expansion.

 

Payment Gateways: Simplified, Secure, Easy to use for eCommerce

Studies show that 77% of respondents frequently use online banking (bank transfer) when making a purchase online, followed by card payment and eWallet Payment. eWallet Payment was introduced as a digital wallet and the most hygienic payment method as it encourages contactless payments/transactions.

eGHL is still in the first place leading in the payment gateway, offering secure Internet payment solutions, covering both card and non-card payments channels across Southeast Asia. eGHL payment gateway is fully PCI Level 1 compliant and built around the latest technologies in the industry.

iPay88, an award-winning regional Payment Gateway Provider in South East Asia comes in second, followed by RazarPay, Billplz and Stripe.

 

Logistics: Newcomers fight to grab a share of logistics

The rise of online shopping has contributed to an increase in competition among logistics service providers. The rapid growth of online shopping in 2020 has motivated a lot of newcomers to enter the logistics market and grab a market share.

Amid stiff competition, EasyParcel continues to gain popularity thanks to the attractive prices offered and extensive coverage. This is followed by DHL, Pos Laju and J&T Express. In addition, LEL Express (Lazada’s internal B2C courier service) will also be the preferred service provider for Lazada Resellers.

 

The Government’s Initiative in the Recovery of Malaysia Economy

After introducing the Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan, the government through the Ministry of Finance (MOF) worked together with Bank Simpanan Nasional, SME Bank and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to offer the SME the Digitalisation Grant.

The Government provides a 50% matching grant of up to RM5,000 per company for the subscription of business digital services including e-commerce. This matching grant is worth RM500 million over the next 5 years, reserved to the first 100,000 SMEs that apply to digitalise their business.

 

Takeaways

As Jon-Paul Best, Head of Financial Services for Nielsen Malaysia said, “increasingly, having an online shopping functionality is becoming the norm, rather than the exception and it is only going to be more widespread.”

There is no denying that the new norm has pushed the rapid growth of the e-commerce industry, and brought about a boom to other related industries such as logistics, payment gateways, digital marketing, etc.

The researcher concluded that the growth of the e-commerce industry in Malaysia will be very promising in the next 4 years.