Key trends in the e-commerce market
Shifting consumer preference for online shopping and constant growth in smartphone penetration boosted the e-commerce market. A recent survey revealed that e-commerce marketplaces such as Lazada, Shopee, and Zalora were the most preferred online shopping channels among Filipino consumers. These websites sell goods from their fulfillment centers and products from third-party sellers through their platforms. They also offer attractive sales deals such as free shipping, discounts when purchasing several items, and cash-on-delivery payment options.Apart from traditional e-commerce, social commerce is emerging as a shopping trend among the social media-savvy Filipino population. With Facebook as the most popular social media platform in the Philippines, brands and retailers took this opportunity to promote and offer their products and services to their potential customers. This can be easily done by creating a Facebook business page or by establishing their online store on Facebook shops. Meanwhile, its built-in marketplace is convenient for smaller businesses and individual sellers to showcase their products. Aside from Facebook, other social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have also incorporated a shopping feature that allows brands and businesses to set up business pages and profiles at no additional costs. Alongside this, these platforms have also added a live streaming or live shopping feature, giving rise to the “shoppertainment” phenomenon.
