Tuesday, April 9, 2013

E commerce

 

"Chinese consumers are 10 times more reliant on social media for purchasing decisions than Americans, according to A.T Kearney's 2014 Connected Customer Study. More tellingly, 86 percent of consumers purchase products through social media, compared to 48 percent worldwide and even more use it to discover, research and review brands, according to PwC's Total Global Retail Survey 2014."  --  Caxin






























PUBLISHED JULY 17, 2014

China's e-commerce revolution to intensify

McKinsey puts China 'e-tail market' sales at US$210b in 2012, doubling to US$420b by 2020
BY
SHU-CHING JEAN CHEN

Big money: The logo of Yuebao, an investment product of Alibaba's online payments platform Alipay, is displayed on a smartphone here. Alibaba has handled 83 per cent of China's e-commerce sales, delivering five billion packages by post to its retail customers last year, or 54 per cent of the national total. - PHOTO: AFP

IT IS often said that there is no such thing as a single unified market in China. The common wisdom portrays China as an amalgamation of diverse local markets, each with its own growth dynamics and characteristics.
In e-commerce, however, China has evolved into an orderly and well-organised marketplace, in stark contrast to its fragmented and under-developed real- world retailing environment.
China's retail market is huge - worth over 1.8 trillion yuan (S$360 billion) in 2013, up an astounding 41.2 per cent over the previous year and dominated by none other than the Alibaba Group, the industry leader and inventor of China's online-payment system Alipay. Alibaba has handled 83 per cent of China's e-commerce sales, delivering five billion packages by post to its retail customers last year, or 54 per cent of the national total.
China's online sales have increased 15 times over the past five years, reaching 1.8 trillion yuan in 2013, up from 120 billion yuan, according to consultancy i-Research, growing on the back of China's massive Internet population, which surpassed that of the United States in 2006. China also has world's largest number of smartphone users, exceeding that of US in the first quarter of 2013.






PUBLISHED JANUARY 31, 2014


Chinese women catch up with shopping



FASHION ADDICTS
Female, middle-income professionals in larger cities will continue to fuel the trend towards women's high-end apparel. - PHOTO: REUTERS

Shanghai
Lisa Yan is the new face of the Chinese luxury consumer: female and fashion-forward.
The 26-year-old finance saleswoman checks social media daily to see what celebrities or friends are wearing. She wears Burberry coats, alternates between a light blue Valentino bag and a black Dolce & Gabbana one for work, and reads magazines such as Vogue before trying to replicate the newest styles.
While women have long dominated luxury shopping globally, they are just now catching up with men in China, who historically had greater purchasing power and accounted for most business-related gift giving. Companies from Chanel to LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton SA are stepping up to meet demand from the country's new breed of female "fashion addicts", dedicating more floor space to women's wear amid a crackdown on expensive gifts such as watches.

PUBLISHED JANUARY 28, 2014


IFC invests in online retail in developing economies




[BERLIN] The World Bank's private-sector arm is investing up to 25 million euros (US$34.18 million) in two online retailers, Lamoda in Russia and Dafiti in Latin America, the latest fundraising success for German venture capital firm Rocket Internet.
The bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) will invest up to 15 million euros in Dafiti and up to 10 million in Lamoda, acknowledging the importance of the retail sector for developing economies. "Internet companies are speeding up modernization of the retail supply chain in developing countries, which promotes consumer spending - a key component of economic growth," Atul Mehta, an IFC director, said in a statement. "Their investments in logistics, information technology and marketing are rapidly generating employment, especially for women and young people." Rocket Internet, the Berlin-based venture capital group behind booming European fashion e-tailer Zalando, has raised hundreds of millions of euros of funding in the last year for a raft of online retailers it has launched across the globe.
While still relatively undeveloped compared with the United States and western Europe, e-commerce is starting to grow rapidly in emerging markets as Internet access improves, helped by the rapid spread of smartphones.
Dafiti, launched in 2011 with a focus on Brazil, is also active in Colombia, Chile and Mexico. Its other investors include Sweden's Kinnevik, Canada's Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, Quadrant Capital Advisors and JP Morgan.

E commerce in Asia

























PUBLISHED AUGUST 28, 2013
Chinese shoppers set to become world leaders online
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The change in shopping habits comes as almost half of the country's 1.3 billion population now have direct access to the Internet, and of that number nearly 80 per cent own smart phones or tablets - PHOTO: AP
[SHANGHAI] China's e-commerce market is expected to leapfrog that of the United States this year to become the world's largest by total customer spending, management consultancy firm Bain & Company says, and could account for half of all Chinese retail spending within a decade.
The change in shopping habits comes as almost half of the country's 1.3 billion population now have direct access to the Internet, and of that number nearly 80 per cent own smart phones or tablets.
China's e-commerce market has grown at an average rate of 71 per cent from 2009 to 2012, versus 13 per cent in America, and its total size is expected to reach 3.3 trillion yuan (US$539.07 billion) by 2015, Bain & Company said in a report released on Wednesday.
Total spending by Chinese consumers on online shopping reached US$212.4 billion in 2012, compared to US$228.7 billion in the US, the report said.















Note the date of this article ;-)

China's consumers are fast embracing e-commerce and m-commerce


 China's Internet shoppers could raise the retail sector's contribution to the economy by up to US$260 billion by the end of the decade, accelerating a drive to rebalance the country's growth model.

 A study of retail spending data from 266 cities across China by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) found that online shopping created as much as 60 per cent additional consumer spending in the country's less developed urban areas and as much as 40 per cent in top tier cities.

In a country where online spending already rivals that of the United States at around US$120 billion a year and could be worth as much as US$650 billion by 2020 at current growth rates, that is a net addition of some US$260 billion of retail activity.

"This is spending that simply wouldn't otherwise exist," said Richard Dobbs, a co-author of the report and a director of MGI, the research arm of McKinsey & Company.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/china/online-shopping-set-rebalance-economy-20130322

The new tech wave - adopt or adapt

There's a new wave of innovative technology sweeping across the globe, winning over millions of users and disrupting traditional business models. When the wave hit the newspaper industry not that long ago, forcing publications in the US and Europe in particular into drastic changes, it was easy for other businesses to comfort themselves with "not in my backyard". Not anymore.

This newspaper yesterday highlighted the travails of another industry whose markets are typically dominated by a few big players. Telecoms companies, or telcos, are finding their bread and butter revenue generators such as voice calls, SMSes and data-roaming charges increasingly undermined by a new generation of "over the top" (OTT) apps such as WhatsApp and Viber. Indeed, Skype, with its popular video-conferencing app for the masses, may have pre-empted what could have been a money-spinner for the telcos.
All these apps ride on data streams of mobile carriers, bypassing the carriers' own services. The carrier becomes, in the words of one commentator, little more than a dumb data pipe. As a result, telcos in Singapore are seeing their average revenues per user dropping steadily, a phenomenon reflected in telecoms markets everywhere. Globally, telcos are leaking billions of dollars. And there seems to be no end to the bleeding.
It doesn't stop there. OTT typically refers to any multimedia content delivered over broadband Internet without that content being controlled or distributed by the Internet operator. So movies, television shows, live sporting events are all "fair game" for the OTT insurgents. In the US, OTT content is already undermining cable TV video-on-demand (VOD) services. The still-nascent VOD market here is clearly vulnerable.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/editorial-opinion/editorial/new-tech-wave-adopt-or-adapt-20130605



OUTNET in SINGAPORE
PUBLISHED MAY 18, 2013
OUTER EGO
Making it click

"Discount stores think, 'because we have a good price point, we don't need a story.' But it's our editorial content that differentiates us, especially since Net-A-Porter pioneered the shoppable magazine. Because designers design fashion for seasons before a trend comes up, we edit our product to go with current season trends. And some trends never go away, like sequins or animal prints."
2 Going mobile
"Our customer could wake up, look at her mobile and see an email from us. As she commutes to the office, she might put an item in the basket, and then pay for it on her desktop when she gets to work. It has to be a seamless experience. Today, 36 per cent of sales are generated through The Outnet's mobile apps."
3 Personalised service
"Particularly in China where the online luxury market is small but brick-and-mortar luxury retail is huge. We need to replicate what we do globally, which is our customer care advisers doubling as sales advisers. If you called and said, 'I'm going to a wedding or will spend a weekend away,' they are able to advise on what you should wear."
4 Social media
"We have 500,000 Facebook followers, 100,000 on Twitter, and we're on Instagram and Weibo, which is absolutely necessary in China. We reach sales from social media but for us, it's mainly an engagement tool. Customers are using social media to interact with customer service directly."
SINGAPORE

China's consumers are fast embracing e-commerce and m-commerce









China's Internet shoppers could raise the retail sector's contribution to the economy by up to US$260 billion by the end of the decade, accelerating a drive to rebalance the country's growth model.
A study of retail spending data from 266 cities across China by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) found that online shopping created as much as 60 per cent additional consumer spending in the country's less developed urban areas and as much as 40 per cent in top tier cities.


In a country where online spending already rivals that of the United States at around US$120 billion a year and could be worth as much as US$650 billion by 2020 at current growth rates, that is a net addition of some US$260 billion of retail activity."This is spending that simply wouldn't otherwise exist," said Richard Dobbs, a co-author of the report and a director of MGI, the research arm of McKinsey & Company.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/china/online-shopping-set-rebalance-economy-20130322

























READING LIST:

China’s Top 3 Most Profitable Web Companies


 The companies that make the list of China’s top tech earners shouldn’t come as much of a surprise — the same players — Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent — have been topping that list for a while now. But the release of Alibaba’s Q4 2012 financials yesterday revealed that the old order of things has been upset. After a long stint at the top of the profitability chart, Tencent is now playing second-fiddle to Alibaba.


China's Most Profitable Tech Companies, Q4 2012Q4 RevenueQ4 ProfitAlibabaTencentBaidu00.511.52in billions USD


It’s worth noting that compared with Q4 2011, Alibaba also has had the strongest growth both in revenue and profits.


Growth, Q4 2012 compared to Q4 2011Revenuegrowth Y-o-YProfits growthY-o-YAlibabaTencentBaidu0%50%100%150%200%


If these numbers are any indication, Alibaba is likely to hold that top spot on the profit charts for some time to come. But of course, all of these companies are making gobs of money, so I don’t imagine any of them are going to be all that upset about who places where on this ladder.

It’s also worth noting that Tencent’s fall in profits could be due to increased investment in WeChat, which is fighting similar apps like Line and KakaoTalk for international users, and which hasn’t been fully monetized yet. Baidu is also moving internationally – we just spotted the company making inroads into Indonesia — and splashed some cash on a big local acquisition, too. And of course, Alibaba is clearly not going to be content to rest on its laurels, as it just invested a boatload in Sina Weibo and rumors are swirling about a number of other acquisitions and a possible IPO on the horizon.



ALIBABA & JET LI COLLABORATE



WeChat Now Has 50 Million Users Outside of China



Early last month we mentioned that WeChat, the China-made messaging app, had 40 million usersoutside of the country. Today Tencent (HKG:0700.HK - News) tells us that this global overseas number has now risen to 50 million registered users beyond China’s borders.
That 50 million figure is from a registered total WeChat user-base that will soon exceed 400 million. Of all those, the company said last week that 195 million are active on WeChat each month. It’s not clear if these overseas users are more or less likely to be active on the social messaging app.
While WeChat is growing pretty well overseas, its outside-of-mainland-China user-base of 50 million is still dwarfed by that of Whatsapp (200 million active users, most of whom are not in mainland China), and by Line’s approximate 105 million registered users outside of Japan (from a total of 150 million signed up to the Japan-made app).
Tencent indicates strong popularity in the iTunes, Android, and Windows Phone app stores in Singapore, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and the Philippines.
WeChat is being marketed pretty aggressively across Southeast Asia by Tencent, with markets like Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, and Indonesia being targeted with the help of local pop and movie stars in each nation.

The post WeChat Now Has 50 Million Users Outside of China appeared first on Tech in Asia.
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/wechat-now-50-million-users-195729861.html

PUBLISHED JUNE 20, 2014
Lack of online services a deal breaker for HNWIs
Those below 40 view online access as important: report

There is a growing importance of digital services that cuts across all wealth levels
[SINGAPORE] An analysis of the world's wealthy had this message for wealth managers here: If the services you provide are not integrated across all communication channels, including digital ones, your client is very likely to leave you for another firm.
This is especially true among the wealthy in the emerging markets of Latin America and the Asia-Pacific ex Japan region. They are looking for an "integrated channel experience". This means a client should be able to start an activity on one channel, like on the phone or in a face-to-face meeting, and finish it on another channel, like email, website, mobile apps, social media or videos.
In addition, there is a growing importance of digital services that cuts across all wealth levels. Those aged below 40 are especially likely to view digital services as important.
"The younger high net worth individuals (HNWIs) made their own fortune through digital means themselves, so they would expect from wealth management firms the same 24/7 access they are giving to their own clients," said Claire Sauvanaud, vice-president and senior account executive for Capgemini Asia Pacific.
Stefan Mueller, managing director and head of investments and products at the Royal Bank of Canada's (RBC) wealth management business in Asia, said that the industry faces a "make or break" situation.
"The winners make it convenient to share knowledge and interact with clients," he said.
RBC Wealth Management and Capgemini Financial Services released World Wealth Report 2014 yesterday, a comprehensive look at the world's HNWIs - those with investable assets of more than US$1 million, excluding their primary residence. More than 4,500 HNWIs across 23 major markets were interviewed for the report.
The report found that nearly two-thirds of HNWIs expect to manage most or all of their wealth relationships digitally in five years' time. The same proportion would consider leaving their current firm if they cannot get an integrated wealth management experience across different channels.
In Latin America and the Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, over 80 per cent of HNWIs said that they will consider moving to another firm if this kind of integrated experience is not provided. This compares to around 60 per cent in Europe and North America.
"Social media and video tools are important notably in Asia. In Asia you have two very concentrated financial centres, Hong Kong and Singapore, yet HNWIs are spread across the whole region," said Mrs Sauvanaud.
HNWIs want digital capabilities to keep them informed and to enable transactions, the report said. Where engaging the firm for advice is concerned, however, they prefer being there in person and through the phone.
Wealth managers have been investing heavily in the digital space from last year. Early this year, DBS Bank said that it will invest $15 million over three years in Watson, a cloud-based service of tech giant IBM that can process large amounts of information. The bank plans to use Watson to help its relationship managers recommend products to clients.



Hello! 太太 TaiTai - Bamboo Network

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