Published on August 25th, 2020 | by Bibhuranjan

SEA eComm Market a New Target as It Is Set to Rise to $300 Billion!

If you were looking for a new eComm market to cash in on, then start looking over to Southeast Asia where online business is about to boom online.

In a recent report by Google, the eComm market in SEA will rise from $100 billion to $300 billion by 2025. That’s a massive 200% increase which is an amazing growth figure. If anyone was every thinking about getting into a new eComm market, then looking into the possibility of breaking into eComm and cross border sales to Southeast Asian countries could be the way the forward.

How to set up supply chain channels

For any US or European business looking to break into the SEA market, products will need a supply chain. You will need to find a company that specialises in delivery into this market. There is of course Amazon, but shipping costs can be expensive, while eBay is a pack it and send it yourself deal.

However, there are firms such as GLOSKU that could help. This firm deals with the delivery of goods from Europe and US into Asia. This includes dealing with all the red tape that goes with the shipping of goods, so you get to deliver goods efficiently and as cost effectively as possible.

A particularly good resource that cover this topic is Understanding Cross Border Ecommerce.

Intangible products for the purpose of eComm

Products and goods are not the only way to enter the SEA online market. In other words, you do not have to try and penetrate the already competitive retail market. There are plenty of other digital products that can be sold to this market.

Online gaming is another growing market in this region. In fact, if you couple the growth of online internet sales and the growth of the online gaming market in SEA and this is the largest industry in the region and gives the online retail sector a run for its money.

Education programs online are another trend that is popular in Asia. Cryptocurrency groups and lessons, online teaching (languages), FX and share options trading lessons, and even GED, TOEIC, and IELTS which are English language tests are becoming immensely popular. With the spread of COVID-19, online lessons are now becoming people’s preferred option in this region.

You may have already seen the plethora of internet privacy software being advertised in your own country. Well, the same companies are doing the same over in Asian markets and they are doing this very successfully.

Affiliate Marketing in Southeast Asia

Other markets that are still open for new businesses include affiliate deals or affiliate marketing. As an English speaker, you will need to aim for a higher society of clientele unless you are prepared to also pay for translators which kind of limits your reach to just one country.

Insurance, ex-pat pensions, financial packages, medical tourism, and tons more affiliate services. This is not an easy market to get into due to the language barriers, but with a growing English-speaking community across Asia, you still have quite a wide market to capture the attention of.

You will also need to try and build up some kind of Social Media following which in Asia can be much easier compared to Western countries where people can be more choosy about which sites they like or pages they follow. Ads are also cheaper compared to Europe and the US – at least for the time being, but you can expect this to change in the near future.

Choosing a Product to Sell Online in Southeast Asia

The most difficult thing about selling in Asia is getting though all the cheap knock off products being sold online. This can be a real pain to go up against because you may be selling legit perfumes and after shaves from Europe or health products, but there will always be a cheaper version which is usually copy.

Although there are strict laws in Asia against doing brand name infringement, all the same it still happens. If you have ever been to Asia, you will have seen the numerous street stalls selling Armani, YSL, and Levi’s as well as numerous watches.

What About eComm Sales from Asia To the UK and US?

The issue here is that these markets are already saturated and there isn’t that much growth to report. Yes, there is some, but most Western countries have a comms infrastructure in place so the eComm markets here have already been targeted with a lot of competition already in place.

There would need to be a unique market looking for Asian products in a niche that is not being targeted much and there is still space for market share. However, these niche markets are tough to find because most Asians are already selling these products to fellow Asians in their communities.

The only similarity between these 2 markets is the shipping of goods and supply channels which are already set up.

Where Should You Begin?

Hire a digital market company to research the industry you would like target. Look for keyword trends and social media. Also look at other online companies selling similar products that already exist in the Asian markets. Make sure you do price comparisons as this is an incredibly price sensitive market too. In essence, what you could do is use the four Ps of marketing and apply this to the Asian eComm marketplace.

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About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.