Ecommerce trends of Asia, 2008-2020

It would be safe to say that Ecommerce is not one of the hottest trends in Asia. According to eMarketer.com,' B2C e-commerce growth is slow through much of the region, B2B e-commerce is already rapidly expanding in most Asian countries. Total B2B e-commerce revenues are expected to grow from $36.2 billion in 2000 to over $300 billion in 2004. '

In fact, Asia is ahead on the user technology front and is rapidly adapting Mcommerce (Mobile Commerce) as there is a burst of mobile phone users in the Asian Subcontinent and it boasts of growth rates never seen in any other part of the world. IDC reports that Asian Mobile phone sales were at 366 million units in 2007 and are likely to increase at the rate of 10% in the coming couple of years. With India and China leading the race for the largest democracy with the highest number of mobile phones, Mcommerce is likely to become a way of life rather than an exception.

Ecommerce cannot be completely ruled out though. Many Mcommerce services are being supported by full fledged ecommerce environments and though bandwidth continues to be a stumbling block in some Asian countries, ecommerce is managing to survive due to the ease-factor which is being demanded by the corporate sector. Japan has been a leading force in the Mcommerce bandwagon and now offers eWallet services to NTT DoCoMo users where they can make payments for utilities as well as on-the-spot purchases via their mobile phones.

China has limited ecommerce penetration due to non-availability of internet services in the semi-rural areas but it comes as no surprise to see a Chinese farmer checking out the latest commodity pricing on his mobile phone via an SMS Gateway! Ecommerce might become a way of time with the West, but in Asia, it is Mcommerce which has really taken off in spite of a couple of false starts.

Developed Asian economies like Singapore, Korea and Taiwan are involving the government in Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) which will help create Mcommerce gateways for important utilities thus making it a valuable service for the entire population. Industry watchers also feel, that the new devices where mobile telephony services and internet access are easily available will result in a merger of Ecommerce and Mcommerce.