First shot fired in Philippine E-Commerce PR war? Hmmm. From PDI: Merchants invade cyberspace

MANILA, Philippines—In the Philippines, merchants are starting to make a killing online.

According to Ambareesh Murty, country manager of eBay Philippines, “e-commerce in the Philippines is in a rapid incline and shows significant promise.”

It is no secret that eBay is the largest purveyor of e-commerce in the world. It is a global online community where practically anyone can trade almost anything. It offers a low-cost platform for entrepreneurship and is open to everyone.

“We’re proud to say that entrepreneurship is in our DNA,” Murty says. “It is a small platform to reach millions of buyers across the globe.”

Also, Abhimanyu Lal of eBay says the company makes “inefficient markets efficient for millions of users.”

But eBay considers the Philippines a special market. With the sudden rise of broadband penetration and mobile broadband, more Filipinos discovered the convenience of shopping and selling online.

“The Philippines is seeing the value of e-commerce,” Murty says, noting that most Filipinos spend a substantial amount of their time on the Internet.

The longer they stay online, Murty says, the more they are inclined to buy and sell.

And they have the numbers to support their words. eBay Philipines has over 750,000 registered users. These consumers come from all 12 metropolitan areas in the country.

Metro Manila has the most active online shoppers. The most active buyer cities in the country are Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, Baguio and Cabanatuan.

But eBay is not limited to the big cities. “You’ll be surprised to know that there is a seller based in Jolo,” Murty said.

In a country that is home to tens of thousands of small and medium entrepreneurs, eBay seeks to foster stronger ties with consumers by providing convenience and safety.

There are over 3,000 sellers in the Philippines. They consider eBay as a primary or secondary source of income. These sellers trade on eBay Philippines daily across 2,000 categories of products. From lipsticks and handbags to gadgets and toys, every user can find something useful or interesting online.

In addition, eBay says the Philippines is a unique market.

In a recent survey, company officials discovered that Filipinos prefer to buy brand-new fixed-price products as opposed to second-hand ones. This runs counter to how an auction is usually conducted—buyers and sellers haggle over the price of a particular product.

Upon learning this, eBay modified its format to suit Filipino buyers and sellers. It launched the “buy it now” program to cater to the Philippine market and other eBay consumers across the globe. The program enables online customers to purchase merchandise right there and then without bargaining with the sellers.

Another modification is eBay’s group-buying site Kuponan. This site offers users substantial discounts and a variety of deals with restaurants, spas and other services.

The company functions as a middle man between merchants and consumers negotiating discounts for the latter.

Also, consumers need not immediately pay the entire amount of the merchandise they bought through eBay. They have the option to pay a certain amount and settle the balance over a specific period of time. This is the company’s version of the “five-gives” scheme where buyers are allowed to pay on installment.

The Philippine market was the first to enjoy eBay’s Kuponan before the company launched the program across the globe.

“We received an overwhelming response from Metro Manila,” Murty says.

eBay also notes that more Filipino women are active online shoppers. Over 50 percent registered users on eBay Philippines are women.

When asked why they think Filipino women are prominent users here in the Philippines, while male users dominate the online marketplace in countries like India and Malaysia, company officials said that Filipino women enjoy a higher degree of independence.

The women here enjoy a higher standard of living compared with those in other parts of Asia, Murty says. They account for a large portion of the workforce and have more disposable income.

As for security, which is a primary concern for most users who are inclined to shop online, eBay ensures that all transactions are safe and secured.

“As part of our commitment to deliver safe, easy and the best deals, we have created a protection program that insures all transactions up to P11,200,” Murty states.

Only a handful of people know that eBay has a Verify rights program in the global marketplace. Murty explains that around 2,000 employees are dedicated to verify the authenticity of each item sold on eBay.

“We pay them to determine if [a product] is real or not,” he says.

The buyer protection program was also created to receive, and respond to, user’s feedback.

“We make sure that each user has a good experience so that they will try again,” Murty explains.

If a merchant were to sell fraudulent items through eBay, that seller will be barred from trading.

If there are penalties, then there must rewards. Merchants who provide excellent service to buyers receive the Power Seller award from eBay.

“It is a privilege we give out to sellers who fit the criterion, but we also reserve the right to strip them of that award if the circumstances call for it,” Murty says.

Citing the company’s bright prospects, Murty expects cooperation, not competition, in the years ahead.

“Our users deserve our collective effort, and we make sure that they have an experience that is one of a kind,” he says.

Like a rocket poised for lift-off, e-commerce is ready to fly and conquer the online marketplace.

via business.inquirer.net

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