A logistic centre in HCM City. Companies are expected to implement digital strategies to continue to reach customers. (Photo courtesy of Shopee Vietnam)Shopee,a leading e-commerce player in the country, in a note predicting trends thisyear, said: “The pandemic pushed businesses, from premium brands tomicro-entrepreneurs, to quickly adopt digital strategies if they sought toreach customers amidst the lockdowns.”
Asonline selling becomes a growing revenue channel for brands and sellers,e-commerce platforms need to work with them to help engage their customers in adifferentiated manner and grow their online presence, it said.
Itcited its own example of working with POND's to integrate its AI-poweredbeauty tech solution, Skin Advisor Live into the online shopping experience,offering shoppers free personalised skincare analysis online to help them makea more informed buying decision.
POND'swas also able to tap into Shopee’s engagement tools such as livestreamingto interact with its target audience.
Thereare more than 20,000 global and local brands on Shopee Mall, offering awide selection of products ranging from everyday to premium items.
Thecompany works closely with these brands to create new and unique shoppingexperiences.
Thee-commerce market is expected to see more changes this year as theCOVID-19 pandemic has brought about a broad, deep and irreversible shift toonline for businesses and consumers.
TranTuan Anh, Managing Director of Shopee Vietnam, said: “2020 was anespecially transformative year for e-commerce. As consumers adhered to socialdistancing measures and stayed home, they turned to online platforms not justfor their daily needs but also for entertainment and interaction.
“Thisled to online shopping evolving from a purely transactional experience to amore social experience, with e-commerce platforms integrating more interactiveelements such as games and livestreaming to engage users. With advancements intechnology, increasing internet penetration and a fast-growing population ofyoung, tech-savvy youths and middle-income families, we expect e-commerce toplay an integral role in the way we live, connect and do business.”
Thisyear adoption of digital payments is expected to increase.
Digitalpayment is the preferred mode online, and as more people become accustomed toe-commerce, it will also drive the offline cashless movement.
Whilelocal governments’ have been moving towards a cashless society, the pandemichas greatly accelerated this need in a region where the majority of consumertransactions are made in cash. In line with movement restrictions and continuedsocial distancing efforts, consumers and businesses have increasingly embraceddigital payments for greater convenience and security.
Forexample, in addition to greater usage of AirPay in-app, the number ofoffline merchants in Viet Nam using AirPay also doubled in 2020, includinglike 7-Eleven, MyKingdom and Guardian.
Thelogistics sector is also expected to see changes.
Shopeepredicted logistics would become even more important as consumers increasinglyrely on e-commerce and have greater expectation of efficient delivery.
Theincrease in demand is particularly significant in the case of daily necessitiesand household essentials.
InVietnam, Shopee, which operates in several countries, saw atwo-fold increase in food, health and home-related items shipped from thewarehouse.
Brandsand sellers need to make use of technology to ensure that parcels are deliveredin a timely and cost-effective manner, and one way to achieve this could be totap into the extensive and integrated networks of e-commerce platforms.
Shopeesaid it saw more brands tapping its logistics infrastructure with theresult that the branded items shipped from its warehouses tripled last year./.
VNA
