Online Shopping Research For The Philippines

Research About Online Shopping In The Philippines: The e-commerce industry in the Philippines is changing. With this change comes new challenges and opportunities. So whether you’re looking for research about online shopping in the Philippines because you are opening up a store or a student studying business, you will find some surprising findings about the online shopping market in the Philippines in today’s article.

We have comprised several research studies, independent data, and case studies below to showcase the newest and most important forms of research about the online shopping market in the Philippines. Additionally, we have linked to development studies and authorities if you’re looking For more information.

Table of Contents

Research About Online Shopping In The Philippines

1. Philippines E-Commerce Stores Face Many Challenges

A fantastic website named MarketResearchPhilippines.com has provided some unique information about the challenges e-commerce stores, and online shopping markets face in the Philippines.

Their article goes into depth about the challenges that face e-commerce store owners, which also affect online shopping in the Philippines. Unfortunately, infrastructure such as warehousing, WIFI, and delivery remains a big problem for the Philippines. There are options available, but the logistics of the e-commerce industry in the Philippines are complex. Therefore, the industry would benefit from greater options some store owners suggest.

However, one benefit is that many e-commerce stores in the Philippines can utilize available online technology. This software can solve many time-consuming challenges that we found during our research about online shopping in the Philippines. These systems include automatic inventory ordering, direct delivery, and several other tasks.

Additionally, one challenge that affects online sellers in the Philippines and consumers is the speed of the Internet. This falls under the category of infrastructure, As mentioned above.

2. E-commerce Accounted For 3% Of The Philippines Retail Sales

In 2021, Statista surveyed each Asian Pacific region and compared their e-commerce sales to their retail sales. Interestingly China’s sales from e-commerce reached just under half at 45%. But when looking at research about online shopping in the Philippines, they found e-commerce accounts only for 3% of the retail sales of the Philippines.

So when looking at different types of research about e-commerce in the Philippines, what does this research show us? This can be taken in many ways, but it suggests a lack of trust from other data we have gathered. As we know, scams are very common in the Philippines, especially online, and this (as well as other factors) results in a lower overall percentage of results.

3. COVID-19 Resulted In More Views And More Sales

Due to the ongoing pandemic, many stayed at home and worked/studied. During that time e-commerce industry experienced a boom. From looking at page views, app downloads, and independent feedback, it is clear that certain industries in the Philippines, including the e-commerce industry, boomed.

From research regarding online shopping in the Philippines and online shopping behavior, we can see that more and more trust has been placed in the e-commerce industry. With this added trust and the ongoing pandemic, the value of the commerce industry in the Philippines is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 17% between now till 2025, GlobalData suggests.

Additionally, the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry recently announced that the number of online sellers increased from 1,700 in March 2020 to an outstanding 93,318 in early January 2021.

4. Predictable Growth Rates Look Extremely Positive

Many factors can impact the overall growth rate for an industry as large as e-commerce in the Philippines. For example, as we discovered earlier, many shoppers stayed home when we looked at some independent research about online shopping in the Philippines. Therefore the e-commerce industry has increased, but this is only one factor.

When we look at data from 2017, we can see that the e-commerce value is around 120 billion pesos. At present, the value is over double compared to 2017. Some predict that in 2030 the total value will reach 600 billion pesos which will be double the value it is today.

5. Government Departments Want E-Commerce To Succeed

The Philippines’ E-Commerce Road Map was introduced in 2021. The road map aims to promote e-commerce with the general public, help small and medium-size e-commerce businesses, and boost the general public’s confidence in online shopping in the Philippines.

Government officials also announced that they are looking to increase the overall GDP contribution to 5.5%. In 2021 this was 3.4%. We also found similar research about government departments supporting the e-commerce industry, which looks promising to store owners and online shoppers in the Philippines.

5. The Battle For E-Commerce Dominance In The Philippines Continues

From the latest statistics of e-commerce websites in the Philippines, Shopee has taken first place, with Lazada coming in second and Amazon third. Even though the most viewed e-commerce store in the Philippines is Shopee, Lazada is close behind.

Carousell ranks as the fourth most popular e-commerce store in the Philippines, with Alibaba being the 5^th. This is from present data over the last 30 days and is regularly updated. Therefore, this list would likely change from previous historical data about e-commerce in the Philippines.

Both Lazada & Shopee are continuously battling to be the Philippines’ #1 eCommerce store. This has many advantages for online sellers and the general public as competition gives alternative options for both sellers and consumers.

6. Social Media Increases Conversion

From various case studies and independent data, it is clear that social media positively impacts e-commerce stores and online shopping behavior in the Philippines. In our latest article discussing business marketing, we explored the findings of the international journey of business law and education.

Their research concluded that websites, social media, and emails are the most popular and widely used means of buying online products in the Philippines. This suggests that small and medium-sized businesses should invest more in these types of marketing. In addition, social media has additional benefits for the e-commerce industry in the Philippines.

One of the most powerful influences on purchases in the Philippines is social proofing. Social proofing is commonly used to verify a product’s quality and is very important for Filipino consumers. High social proofing on social media shows a dramatic increase in the likelihood of sales in the e-commerce industry.

Furthermore, the Philippines has been the leading country in social media usage over the last few years. Many social media companies offer a free platform, so In other words, a free platform with a large audience is an opportunity for small e-commerce sellers in the Philippines.

7. COD – Cash On Delivery Is Essential For Online Selling

According to a detailed report released by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) back in 2019, 51.2 million Filipino citizens do not use banks. This can cause a slight issue for online sellers in the Philippines and consumers.

However, when looking at research for online shopping in the Philippines, services are available to combat this problem, such as the cash and delivery option, using other nonbanking systems (e-wallet, etc.).

8. Security Concerns With Online Transactions When Online Shopping

As somebody who has had the privilege to live in several countries, I can tell you that security concerns with online transactions are not only a big concern with Filipinos but also the world at large. However, with data breaches, online scams, and hacks continuing, it’s no surprise that security remains a concern for many online shoppers in the Philippines.

As e-commerce businesses grow, we found a strong likelihood of teaming up with branded financial systems (7/11, Gcash, etc.), which suggests that trustability remains the main point as e-commerce stores grow.

Some non-research about online shopping in the Philippines bought us to the topic of limited cards. I say non-research as this is based on independent feedback rather than a full case study. Nevertheless, we found that more and more consumers use limited cards (A.K.A virtual bank cards that can only be debited a small amount such as 50, 100, 200 Pesos) to overcome security concerns.

9. Demographics Of Online Shoppers In The Philippines

Research from LPU-Laguna found some unique findings in the study on online shopping in the Philippines. Results concluded that most respondents were between 19 to 30, which made up 42% of the participants. On the other end of the scale, the smallest respondent group was 41 years and above (9.2%).

In terms of gender, they found that 56% were males and 44% were females. Additionally, just under 70% of the respondents were single. As a result, it can be concluded that most sellers from their survey were younger single people.

Over the years, there have been additional case studies and research about online shopping in the Philippines, concluding that females purchase more from online stores than males, but this was a small study. Additionally, the type of product influences the statistics. Therefore, some suggested larger studies are needed to give a wider picture of the demographics of online shoppers in the Philippines.

More Business Growth & Info Guides

8 Businesses you can start with almost no money in the Philippines 2023

Top-Selling Online Products In The Philippines