This will make it the fourth-largest e-commerce player in the region by gross merchandise value (GMV), behind Tokopedia with 13.9 per cent, Lazada at 17.7 per cent, and Shopee, which is set to top the market with a 46.5 per cent share of GMV.

The consultancy said this market share estimation is based on two factors – that TikTok reaches its GMV target of US$15 billion in South-east Asia in 2023, and that the other e-commerce players continue to see growth rates similar to 2021 and 2022.

In a report on Monday (Aug 21), Momentum Works noted that TikTok Shop has shown “impressive” growth in South-east Asia, and the region also makes up most of its global GMV. TikTok Shop’s business grew from US$0.6 billion in GMV in 2021 to US$4.4 billion in 2022, and is set to reach a US$15 billion target in 2023.

“This will put TikTok Shop in the same league as established players Lazada and Tokopedia,” Momentum Works said.

The consultancy derived its data from interviews with platforms, logistics and payment players in each country in the region, as well as consumers and other ecosystem stakeholders. These were then cross-checked with numbers disclosed by platforms and calibrated to obtain the final numbers.

The report’s coverage of e-commerce included key marketplaces such as Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop, and excluded brands’ own platforms in the online retail market.

TikTok Shop has operations in all major South-east Asian markets – Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand – as well as in the UK, US and Saudi Arabia.

Momentum Works highlighted four characteristics of TikTok Shop that distinguish it from other e-commerce players.

First, unlike standalone e-commerce apps, TikTok Shop is an in-app feature of a social media platform. This means that it enjoys natural traffic via TikTok, which exceeded one billion monthly active users globally in 2022. This helps TikTok Shop save on costs to acquire and retain users.

Second, TikTok’s e-commerce sales are also mainly driven by recommending content to its users, in contrast to conventional marketplaces where users search for products.

Third, the platform is content-driven, with creators and multi-channel networks playing vital roles in the ecosystem.

Fourth, TikTok Shop does not have payment and fulfilment infrastructure, although it is working in that direction. Reuters reported earlier this month that TikTok is in the process of obtaining a payment licence in Indonesia.

In China’s e-commerce market, TikTok’s sister company Douyin and Chinese agriculture-focused online retailer Pinduoduo are already making waves. Within six years of their moving into the market, Alibaba’s market share had shrunk from more than 80 per cent to less than 50 per cent, according to Momentum Works.

While TikTok Shop is fast emerging as a serious contender against incumbent e-commerce majors such as Shopee and Lazada in South-east Asia, Momentum Works also sees TikTok competing with Amazon in the US and Middle East.

“Ultimately, change is the only constant. Whether TikTok Shop is a threat to incumbent platforms might not be a standalone question at all,” said Weihan Chen, Momentum Works’ insights lead.

“The bigger narrative is that in e-commerce, where leading players seem to have a network effect and structural advantage, disruption can still happen, and the incumbents should always remain focused and vigilant.”

Original Article: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/startups-tech/startups/tiktok-shop-could-treble-s-e-asia-market-share-2023-report

ALMOST SEVEN out of 10 Filipinos are more worried about rising grocery prices than the possibility of another pandemic, a report by marketing data and analytics company Kantar showed.

“When we asked our respondents what concerns them most, top of the list and on top of their minds would be rising grocery prices… They’re even more scared of the rising grocery prices over another pandemic crisis from happening again,” Laurice Padlan-Obana, Kantar Philippines Worldpanel Division Consumer and Shopper Insight director, said during a virtual briefing on Wednesday.

Kantar’s Shopperscope 2023 report showed that 67% or seven out of 10 Filipinos are more concerned with rising grocery prices, while 50% were worried about another pandemic and 44% were concerned over higher fuel costs.

The survey used for the Kantar report was conducted from February to April and covered 2,000 households across the Philippines.   

Inflation peaked at 8.7% in January, as prices of food and fuel continued to surge. Since then, the consumer price index slowed to 8.6% in February, 7.6% in March and 6.6% in April.

Kantar said Filipino consumers were also concerned over the impact of climate change (39%), possible fuel shortages (34%), physical and mental health of self and others (30%), future financial security (30%), political conflict with other countries (28%), economic outlook of the country (24%), and food shortage (23%). 

However, most Filipinos remained hopeful in the next 12 months, with only 8% of respondents expect their situation to worsen.   

Ms. Padlan-Obana said more Filipinos are putting more emphasis on price and affordability when choosing where to purchase grocery items.

Consumers are also looking for stores with longer hours and quick checkouts as they return to their regular routines, she added.

The Kantar report classified Filipino shoppers into three groups — “struggling” or those who are unable to cover their expenses; “managing” or people who finds ways to make both ends meet; and “comfortable” or those who have the least budget constraints.   

“The ‘struggling’ are foremost concerned about rising prices and another pandemic happening. The ‘managing’ shoppers are concerned about the same things as struggling shoppers. The ‘comfortable’ are not only concerned about rising prices of goods but also about their health and their financial security in the future,” Ms. Padlan-Obana said.   

She noted majority of Filipinos are those that can find ways to make ends meet, which means they have a lot of discipline when making purchases.

Ms. Padlan-Obana said fast-moving consumer goods brands and retailers should understand the shopping behavior and preference of these shopper groups.

All three shopper groups buy their grocery items at hypermarkets, supermarkets, groceries, sari-sari stores, convenience stores, drug stores, and direct sales, with varying levels of frequency and loyalty.   

“The way to win them is communicating how they can save and maximize value in what they are paying for,” Ms. Padlan-Obana said.

The report also showed 68% of Filipinos plan their trips with a budget and grocery list. “Comfortable” shoppers also bring their families along during grocery shopping while “struggling” shoppers typically go by themselves. 

“Shoppers go to hypermarkets and supermarkets in a purposive and deliberate manner. It is highly planned, going straight to the aisles to look for where items on their list are found,” Ms. Padlan-Obana said.   

The report also showed Filipinos are visiting sari-sari stores more often, with a 5% annual increase to 212 trips. Nearly all or 99.7% of households buy from sari-sari stores, Kantar added.

Original Article: https://www.bworldonline.com/top-stories/2023/07/13/533867/7-out-of-10-filipinos-worry-over-rising-grocery-prices-kantar/

MANILA, Philippines – Lucio Co’s Puregold Price Club is expanding its foothold in the Greater Manila Area through the acquisition of 14 stores of DiviMart supermarkets.

The deal will instantly convert all acquired DiviMart locations to Puregold under a sublease transaction.

These 14 stores are located in:

• Angat, Bulacan
• Pandi, Bulacan
• Morong, Bataan
• Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija
• Olongapo City
• San Isidro, Taytay, Rizal
• San Miguel, Pasig City
• General Trias, Cavite
• Bacoor, Cavite
• Cabuyao, Laguna
• Tayuman, Manila
• Aliaga, Nueva Ecija
• Taytay, Rizal
• Pulilan, Bulacan

An additional 18 DiviMart locations will be evaluated for possible conversion to Puregold stores, according to Puregold’s stock exchange filing.

DiviMart is a Filipino supermarket chain founded in 1989 by Harry Uy and Vivian Ong Juanitas. It has over 30 branches nationwide and is known for its affordable goods.

Puregold told regulators that the acquisition is below 10% of the company’s book value.

“The parties are still finalizing the definite consideration for the contemplated transaction because the evaluation of store locations, improvements, furniture, fixtures, equipment, and merchandise inventory is still ongoing,” Puregold said.

As of end-March, Puregold had a total of 531 stores nationwide – 456 Puregold stores, 23 S&R Membership Shopping Warehouses, and 52 S&R New York Style QSRs.

Puregold’s consolidated net income went up 12% to P2.4 billion in the first three months of 2023.

Net sales for the first quarter rose by 15% P44.4 billion. Puregold Stores contributed P30 billion while S&R Warehouses contributed Php 14.4 billion. – Rappler.com

Original Article: https://www.rappler.com/business/puregold-acquires-divimart-supermarkets/

Pandamart, foodpanda’s online grocery store, has launched its first-ever physical pop-up store in the country.  The new pandamart Pop-Up store is located in Trinoma Mall in Quezon City ready to serve consumers with its wide assortment of fresh, frozen, snacks, drinks, pantry essentials, pharmaceuticals, and other household items.  Now shoppers can fully immerse themselves in the pandamart shopping experience.

The new pandamart pop-up store allows consumers to browse through the displayed products in the kiosk, order conveniently in the foodpanda app, and pick up the items
on the same day.

“The online grocery space is ever-growing and ever-changing, so to keep up with the current times, we are stepping up our game in offering a wide selection of quality groceries to customers,” said Danielle Eleazar, Head of Marketing (New Verticals) of foodpanda Philippines.

Apart from offering a leveled-up experience to consumers, the pandamart pop-up store is also bridging the gap between the usage of online and offline channels when it comes to grocery shopping for its app users.

Available until the end of May, pandamart’s pop-up store provides impressive features to give shoppers and consumers a first-hand experience of what pandamart has to offer.

Pandamart shoppers are in for a treat.  Exciting activities, exclusive promos, discount vouchers, item giveaways from brand partners await pandamart shoppers; additional chances to win more prizes with the entertaining spin-the-wheel games.  But wait, it doesn’t stop there!  On May 27, tune in to the special Facebook live stream online selling event for a chance to win additional vouchers and prizes of up to Php 10,000!

Want to try foodpanda’s pandamart for the first time? Use the voucher code NEWGROCER for Php 100 off on your first order and enjoy convenient online grocery shopping in the comfort of
your home!

Original Article:  https://mb.com.ph/2023/5/22/a-pop-up-store-for-this-on-demand-food-and-grocery-marketplace

Filipino retailers have quickly adopted live selling compared to their peers in the region as a major platform to push their merchandize to the market, according to a leading tech-enabled logistics company.

In its first ever white paper on Live Selling in Southeast Asia (SEA), the country’s leading tech-enabled logistics company Ninja Van Philippines revealed that 47 percent of Filipino sellers conduct sessions daily, versus weekly average in the region.

The white paper introduces Live Selling as one of the up-and-coming SEA e-commerce trends, and shares Live Selling insights collected from over 1,000 Ninja Van’s e-commerce sellers across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

While still a nascent industry, the company’s white paper showed that nearly one in three surveyed sellers have tried live selling.

Specifically, Ninja Van said that of those who are already live selling, nine in 10 prefer to do it themselves, and only one in 10 tap influencers to do live selling for them. Filipino sellers are among the most prolific live sellers, with 47 percent doing it daily – against a 31 percent regional average.

More Filipinos than their regional counterparts also believe that live selling brings in new business, with 74 percent saying that attracting new customers is a top driver for conducting live selling. A secondary driver would be to increase profit, with 52 percent of Filipino sellers saying live selling is more profitable than just posting items on marketplaces and apps.

“Live selling is an interesting marketing tactic for e-commerce sellers,” said Winston Seow, Chief Marketing and Enablement Officer, Ninja Van Group. “It’s the only tactic that can fast-track shoppers’ purchase journeys from awareness straight to conversion. Live selling also gives e-commerce sellers the ability to build relationships at scale with their shoppers, both new and existing.”

Filipino sellers can spend up to 14 hours weekly conducting live selling sessions, versus a regional average of up to six hours. Most of the early adopters of live selling are from low-involvement product categories such as Fashion, Beauty & Personal Care, Food and Beverages, as well as Home and Living.

While Shopee (27.0%), Facebook (25.5%), and TikTok (22.5%) are ranked as the top three live selling channels, the close margins signal that the champion has yet to emerge in SEA. This could be explained by the fact that on average, the surveyed SEA e-commerce sellers use two channels for Live Selling, presumably to maximize their outreach to live shoppers.

Sellers also use live selling as a means to build deeper connections with consumers. “Live selling allows us to easily and directly engage with our audience who have become regular viewers of our live sessions. We’ve also seen lower product return rates since we have started live selling,” says Nikka Arasa of Suniega Stainless Products Tradings, a stainless product manufacturer based in Nagcarlan, Laguna.

The white paper further explores the challenges of Live Selling, such as keeping Live Shoppers engaged, preparing on-set logistical requirements, as well as sales and post-sales arrangements, while providing recommended solutions.

The Live Selling in SEA white paper reaffirms the Ninja Van Group’s commitment to understanding the ever-changing landscape in order to provide e-commerce sellers with hassle-free delivery solutions.

Ninja Van Philippines plans to conduct their first-ever live seller accelerator program, designed to equip both new and would-be live sellers necessary skills and seed money to bridge their business to live selling platforms.

With its dominance in Southeast Asian e-commerce logistics, the Group continues to nurture an ecosystem that provides value-added services and tools to ensure a seamless experience for shippers and shoppers alike.

Launched in the Philippines in 2016, Ninja Van’s “Todo Hustle, No Hassle” commitment now serves 100% of the Philippine population, and has made it among the fastest-growing tech logistics companies in the country. Today, Ninja Van continues empowering businesses with fast deliveries, excellent service, and innovative logistics solutions.

Ninja Van Philippines operates the groups largest automated sorting facility in its Cabuyao, Laguna hub.

Original Article : https://mb.com.ph/2023/01/17/filipino-retailers-ahead-of-asean-peers-in-live-selling-report/