Slow speed hinders online shopping sites
THE slow Internet speed in the country is the biggest challenge faced by online shopping sites.
“(Internet) speed is the biggest restraint. Someone, please, fix the Internet,” Clarissa Briones, chief executive officer of Pinoy Great Deals, said during a panel discussion as part of the recently concluded Cebu ICT/BPM Conference.
The Philippines has been identified by Akamai’s State of the Internet report as one of the countries with the slowest Internet connection speeds in the Asia-Pacific region.
Online shopping, one of the most popular electronic commerce (eCommerce) services, allows people to shop for merchandise in the comfort of their homes at any time they like, without having to navigate through road traffic and deal with congested malls, Briones said.
She hoped telecommunications companies Globe Telecom and Smart Communications could address the Internet connectivity issue.
Robert Gantuangco, director and co-founder of DCOM.ph, said eCommerce continues to thrive in the Philippines despite the connectivity problems.
He said he expects this to be the only mode of trading, buying and selling products and services in the future.
“Everyone is online today,” he said.
Recent data showed that around 24 percent of the population uses the Internet to do their shopping.
Gantuangco said he expects this to increase in the next few years.
He noted that Internet penetration is even faster than television penetration.
While it took television around 40 years to reach a 50 percent penetration, it took only 11 years for the Internet to reach 41 percent penetration.
He said, however, that local online shopping platforms “must step up its game” to be able to compete with international shopping sites.
Gantuangco said three things must be done to make the industry more competitive: earn the trust and loyalty of the consumers as well as learn their habits; expand the selection of commodities available
online; and provide faster, better, cheaper and more convenient connectivity.
eCommerce used to be done through social networks and messaging devices such as Viber, We-chat and FB Messenger.
Gantuangco said there now seems to be an increasing shift to mobile-friendly websites and mobile applications.
“eCommerce is the new rising tide. There is no way to go but digital,” he said.