E-commerce is taking a new form. Thanks to mobile-commerce or m-commerce, online shopping has never been easier.
M-commerce is based upon the premise of providing services ‘anytime, anywhere.’ A perfect example is a consumer who wants to pay for services while traveling, or a person who wants to check out the latest products from his favorite sellers while on a break. M-commerce enables them to conduct and settle transactions while on the go.
The Philippine mobile industry
As it turns out, the Philippines is poised to take on the latest challenge in the e-commerce industry. In fact, an Ipsos Media Atlas Philippines Nationwide Urban survey revealed that slightly higher than 30% of the country’s population is highly dependent on mobile phones.
This figure is complemented by the growing smartphone market, which was hailed by Intel as the fastest-growing market in Southeast Asia. This is thanks in part to the giant telecommunications companies that offer irresistible deals to subscribers alongside owning a smartphone. For example, Globe Telecom offers the elusive iPhone 5 for only 1,799 pesos a month ($43), inclusive of unlimited LTE surfing using and other consumables.
Similarly, the Business Monitor International (BMI) projects that the Philippines will have 117 million mobile subscribers by 2016, a figure that even surpass the country’s current population.
Strength in numbers
As further proof of the industry’s growth, Singapore-based e-commerce store Zalora has recently opened satellite offices in the Philippines. Aside from this, the company also released an iOS app that effectively displays its products in a streamlined and responsive design. With the single tap of an icon, consumers can put items in their virtual shopping carts and be a step closer to owning that particular product. Zalora’s mobile app shows just how far the world of e-commerce has come.
The Philippine economy is obviously in place to take advantage of the inevitable growth in the m-commerce market. Should this online shopping method be widely implemented, then Filipinos would have front-row seats to the birth of a new era.