E-commerce in Philippines continues to grow post-pandemic — Lazada
MANILA, Philippines — Although physical stores are back on track in the tail-end of COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce in the Philippines has not yet waned and in fact, continues to propel upward, Lazada Philippines Chief Executive Officer Carlos Barrera confidently declared.
“To be very honest, e-commerce in the Philippines continues to grow. The reality is that habit has already been built,” Barrera told Philstar.com in an exclusive interview following their company’s recent partnership launch with banking giant Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).
“So a lot of people come back more frequently now than the pandemic,” he said.
There has been, however, a change in consumer behavior post-pandemic.
“What we saw during the (height of the) pandemic was that people used to buy more quantity. But now they buy more frequently,” he shared.
“Yes, they probably buy a little bit less whenever they come (to the site) because they have more alternatives, they can buy offline. But the habit is so strong that they come back more frequently and they buy different things. So it’s a very good time for e-commerce now, and even the categories from where they buy have evolved.”
While Filipinos used to online-shop for health essentials like face masks and groceries at pandemic’s height, nowadays, they shop for more non-essentials like fashion and beauty products, Barrera explained.
“So it’s a very strong year for us!”
To keep the momentum, Barrera said their company will continue to evolve toward three directions. First is by differentiating customer experiences.
“We want to deliver faster and we want to give a better experience to the receiving customer out there, improving on returns and refunds, building that trust that we want to known for,” he said.
Second, the company plans to continue developing its server to be able to offer more incentives such as everyday low prices and cash back.
“Just to make sure that people can find everything that they want and that we can drive that image of affordability. We can get things that are good for their money and that we can find what they want.”
Finally, the company plans to collaborate with more big brands and companies like BPI.
The first-of-its-kind partnership between the Philippines’ oldest bank and one of the largest e-commerce operators in Southeast Asia aims to deliver the most sought-after products of BPI through the platform.
According to Barrera, they target to “have more collaborations to give more businesses more opportunities and consumers better choices.”
