Internet supermarket booms in bad times, Selling online a golden opportunity for Filipino business

Monday, November 16, 2009

From ABS-CBN news online - The Internet global supermarket is booming because people and businesses are looking for bargains and new outlets in bad times, a new report says.  (My comment, Philippines has a golden opportunity for big and small businesses to embrace this technology and sell sell sell to the world.  Example is the recent Pacquiao rumble where people wanted to buy tshirts, and much more and where were the Filipino merchants like Island Souvenirs online, seems they and others are missing a golden opportunity)

And the this great global shopping mall can only expand rapidly as mobile phone use explodes, the Chinese get involved and advertisers jump in, the OECD forecasts.

But the e-trade revolution is being held back by hidden frontiers, ranging from concerns over privacy of personal information, language problems, delivery costs and taxation and regulation barriers.

As the Christmas spending spree, vital to many retailers and manufacturers around the world, gets under way, the OECD also highlights other worries for consumers.

For example, Santa Claus may never turn up with the goods, or the purchases may be defective, or payment details may be stolen.

These are among the obstacles to increased cross-border trade, paradoxically even within the European Union, which the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development lists in a report on a conference under the heading: "Empowering e-consumers."

The report found that the financial crisis had breathed new life into electronic commerce, with sales rising in Europe, the United States and China at a time when the store-based retail sector struggles as consumers' disposable income shrivels.

"The financial and economic crisis appears to be giving a e-commerce a boost as consumers search for ways to reduce expenditures by purchasing items online," the OECD said, adding: "The savings can be substantial."

It cited a study showing that shoppers in Britain, Germany and France can save 17 percent by buying electronics goods, DVDs and clothing on online trading platforms rather than in physical stores.

In the United States on-line sales for 80 retailers rose an average of 11 percent in the first quarter of the year, according to another study.

One site, Craigslist, is forecast to report sales of 100 million dollars this year, a 23 percent increase from 2008. Another platform, Amazon, had net sales of 177 million dollars in the first quarter alone, up 24 percent from the first quarter 2008.

The OECD cites a study by the Forrester research group predicting that western European consumers will buy 123.1 billion euros' worth of goods online by 2014, for an average annual growth rate of 9.6 percent.
China too has experienced a jump in online retail activity. The online auction and retail website of the country's leading e-commerce company, Alibaba Group, reported a 131 percent rise in transaction volume in February compared with a year earlier.

Helping to spur electronic commerce is the growth in mobile phone use. The number of mobile phone subscribers grew at an average rate of 30 percent a year from 1993 to 2007 in the 30 industrialised economies in the OECD.

But the OECD warned that the future of e-commerce is not entirely secure, maintaining that its fate "depends for a large part on the level of confidence that consumers have in on-line shopping."

It noted that half the cross-border complaints and disputes filed with the European Consumer Center Network stemmed from purchases made over the Internet.
 
"Delivery problems and dissatisfaction with the products purchased were the leading reasons for the complaints, accounting for 75 percent of the total," the OECD said.

Customers voiced dissatisfaction with non-deliveries, misrepresentation by online retail sites and difficulties contacting merchants.

While the Internet may have made it easier to buy products from foreign businesses, consumers have shown themselves to be reluctant to do so, according to the OECD, which cited language barriers, higher shipping costs, regulatory barriers and scams and misleading practices as key constraints.

Last year 33 percent of EU consumers purchased products online but only 7.0 percent bought goods from another country, the report said.

While many countries have e-commerce laws and regulations, such practices risk becoming outdated given the speed at which new products and services are created.

The study found that most countries, apart from the United States, do not have specific regulations to protect the privacy of children.

It said many online retailers ask consumers to confirm their age simply by ticking a box, with no follow-up measures to ensure that the information is accurate.

Another area of growing concern for the sector, according to the OECD, is the use of behavioral techniques that track a consumer's purchasing habits in order to tailor advertising to his or her interest.

But there is little doubt about the economic impact of online advertising. A recent study cited by the OECD found that the contribution to economic activity of online advertising amounts to 300 billion dollars in the United States. The US online advertising sector directly employs more than 1.2 million people.  Continue reading here http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/technology/11/16/09/internet-supermarket-booms-bad-times
Posted by Philippine Bargains at 4:04 PM 2 comments

Philippine Islands Souvenirs

Wednesday, November 11, 2009


Philippines

Europe vows to liberate online shopping, what about shopping online in the Philippines?

leave a comment »

My comment: Here is the Philippines the merchants are losing a valuable opportunity to sell online as few do such a business. There is an increasing number getting online everyday and its a cheap way of advertising too. Even stores like CDR King which is always out of many items, would be an excellent candidate for such an expansion with pent up demand all over the country. And Island Souvenirs also does not seem to recognize the world wide potential of such world wide sales. And the Hong Merchants who sell on ebay should open a local stocking outlet since the non brand batteries cell batteries sold in country are mostly junk and don’t last good like the original brand and yet my experience from USA and Hong Kong batteries off brand, they are just as good and even if you can ever find any batteries in stock for your cell at CDRKing they are good not like the off brands sold at the stalls you find everywhere here in the Philippines. And there are lots of other items that would be easier to sell online with good delivery services like LBC, DHL and others here in country. Payment remains a sticking point so meet ups still might be the best way or payment after receipt like Globe is now offering although I don’t know how well it works. But if its a big reliable company it should be easy. Why not even sell LCD TVs online for local pickup from SM Appliances or Robinsons or Abensons?
-

Written by philippinetech Edit

October 25, 2009 at 11:27 am

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged with ,

Letter to Islands Souvenirs president Jonathan Jay Aldeguer

leave a comment »

Letter to Islands Souvenirs president Jonathan Jay Aldeguer

Your website is visually attractive but could generate great sales if you had your t shirts from the different cities of the Philippines right on line so customers could order by city and attraction worldwide.

Also your email on your website does not work, so how can you learn what customers think? Try sending an email and you will find it is rejected as unable to find your company email.

Here is what the rejected email said Hi. This is the qmail-send program at yahoo.com.
I’m afraid I wasn’t able to deliver your message to the following addresses.
This is a permanent error; I’ve given up. Sorry it didn’t work out.
<info@islandsouvenirs.com>:
Sorry, I couldn’t find a mail exchanger or IP address. (#5.4.4)

And your flash introduction page on your website is annoying rather than opening right to your products page and should be removed as some don’t have flash players. Check out these websites where you can order online and there is no wasted flash page to slow down your customer experience.

Why can’t you do the same having ordering online to the world?

And your website doesnt have email address able to be easily copied so you can paste in your email as it is a graphic and not able to be copied but must be hand written, why not make it easier for customers to write you by putting the email address in text like most websites do?

Being visually attractive does not make sales, but the Philippines and the world are ready for your products online and I am sure that many like me have visited a place and regretted not getting a t shirt and later would like to have.

Why not make it easy and put ur shirts online and see how e-bay.ph does it very well with millions of customers who order online. You could even have a store on ebay. I would be happy to talk with you further but regardless I hope you can make your website useful to customers besides just getting store locations.

Thanks. We want your t shirts online. Watch the sales expand!

Website

Written by philippinetech Edit

October 6, 2009 at 9:05 pm

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged with , ,

Islands Souvenir store offers new products

leave a comment »

RACKS dedicated to fair-trade products will be put up in at least 20 Islands Souvenirs stores nationwide starting next year in support of local producers and in the promotion of sustainability efforts.


This was disclosed by Islands Group president Jay Aldeguer during a media lunch last Thursday at Casino Español de Cebu.

Islands Souvenirs Inc. (ISI) outlets will serve as an incubation hub for fair-trade products to reach their markets.

-
Fair trade is a global movement that aims to give just value and market access to the products of small-time producers. Fair trade products are made in environmentally, economically and socially responsible conditions.


Aldeguer said he had been active in developing cottage industries and so was aware that most producers are concerned with market access.

“Islands Souvenirs will give them the venue to promote their products,” he said. The 20 main stores identified nationwide will simultaneously start displaying fair-trade products by the summer of 2010.

He also said since these stores are based in different provinces, the suppliers can come from producers based in the provinces where ISI outlets are located.

If the products get a good response from the market, Aldeguer said, Islands Souvenirs will officially tap the producers as direct suppliers of the company.

He also said the company welcomes various products, from bags to food products.
The company’s pasalubong (souvenir) center in Lapu-Lapu City is already carrying fair-trade products.

Aside from this, Aldeguer is also looking at asking the Department of Trade and Industry to assist producers in their businesses. He said he has already talked to local fair trade movement representatives in Cebu to help push for this initiative.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/souvenir-store-offers-fair-trade-products

Written by philippinetech Edit

October 6, 2009 at 8:51 pm

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged with

Cebu-based Islands Souvenirs aims at nationalistic fervor

leave a comment »

WHAT started out as a regular Independence Day seasonal shirt design for a Cebu-based souvenir retail giant has now become a leader in a new trend that makes it cool again to be Filipino.
-
Island Souvenirs president Jonathan Jay Aldeguer said they were preparing to roll out a 2008 Independence Day commemorative shirt when suddenly the proverbial light bulb lit up.
-
“Suddenly our employees and their friends have been [eagerly] asking when it will be released and when the new designs will come out,” Aldeguer said. “[The interest on the shirts] was surprisingly overwhelming.”
-
-The shirt spread like wildfire and in just a year, the brand known as Pi (for Philippine islands) accounts for Island Souvenir’s biggest sales chunk in its 90 shops nationwide.
-
“It became trendy to be proud to be Filipino again,” Aldeguer said.
It is so successful the company is now thinking of creating standalone stores for the brand before Independence Day 2010.
-
Designs of the Pi shirts are surprisingly simple—mostly inspired by the Philippine flag, writings by national heroes and the Philippine map. But it has successfully punched through perhaps the most fickle and western-oriented market segment—the young adults.
-
Island Souvenirs hit the retail market by storm in the 1990s with its brightly colored shirts heralding the best of the Philippine cities and other tourist destinations.
-
Aldeguer credited the fervor to a combination of factors—the victory of Manny Pacquiao, the deaths of former president Corazon Aquino and musician Francis Magalona, and the successes of singers Arnel Pineda of Journey and Apl.D.Ap of Black Eyed . He also credited his company’s design staff for continuously churning our groundbreaking illustrations.
-
“Previously, nobody would like to be caught wearing a Philippine flag-inspired shirt,” he said. “Now it’s cool to be nationalistic. Even the younger kids drag their parents to our shop to buy a Pi shirt.”
-
Island Souvenirs also launched a massive marketing campaign, tapping young endorsers from rock stars to student leaders even to young philanthropists—all proclaiming their pride to be Filipinos.
-
Sales from the Pi line has boosted Island Souvenir earnings by 30 percent on top of its usual sales with Cebu and Metro Manila accounting for the bulk of the positive growth says Aldeguer
http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/companies/16877-cebu-based-firm-aims-at-nationalistic-fervor.html

Written by philippinetech Edit

October 6, 2009 at 8:48 pm

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged with ,

Posted by Philippine Bargains at 5:00 PM 2 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)