10.29.06
2 cents worth of Ecommerce Opinion
Check out our interview with Malaysia new hip Internet 2.0 Magazine - SURF!
E-commerce: Has its time come?
- Kashminder Singh
Most businesses won’t touch an ecommerce venture with a pole these days. That’s a far cry from the days when every CEO was dreaming of building ecommerce fuelled empires. Those dream disappeared along with the Dotcom collapses some years ago.
Local companies that did go on to launch local ecommerce offerings have generally received a lukewarm response from Internet surfers. Quite a few planned large ventures did not take off and many ecommerce sites eventually closed down.
However things have changed a lot since then and the Internet is buzzing with all kinds of new application and initiatives. So is it finally time to go into ecommerce? Adrian Oh of Neowave says the answer to the question is a yes.
Adrian is one of the partners at Neowave Sdn Bhd (www.neowave.com.my) a company that specializes in providing Ecommerce solutions to clients from all over the world. Their webShaper e-commerce solution has helped many companies start their ecommerce ventures quickly and effortlessly.
Adrian believes that the future of ecommerce is very bright in this country and that it is only a matter of time before it takes off in a big way. And that time may not be too far as he sees 6 trends emerging. “Things have changed a lot”, he says, “the Internet is much more matured compared to 5 years ago and ecommerce has its place there. Otherwise why would we have specialized in ecommerce solutions?”
In fact, he says that most people are already using ecommerce but the fact hasn’t registered fully in their consciousness. “Everyone books airline tickets online these days. They also buy cinema tickets and other similar things. Most just haven’t gotten down to buying physical things yet.”
And when they do get down to purchasing stuffs like books, toys and gadgets, they end up buying from retailers located thousands of miles away instead of from local retailers. That’s because overseas retailers have been selling online for a long time and Internet surfers have become familiar with sites like Amazon.com. Nevertheless even if they are not buying from local retailers yet in large numbers, it is an encouraging signs that people are starting to buy things online.
Another significant trend that Adrian sees is that people who grew up with the Internet always being in their lives are beginning to enter the working world. These young professionals have spending power and no real aversion to spending their money online. A large part of these people lives are spent online. They make friends online, share stuff online so Adrian asks why shouldn’t they buy things online. He believes that these people, who are the natural early adopters for services like Ecommerce are already buying things online and would do so from local sites too if the right products and offerings are available.
Transacting payment online may have been a concern at one time but even this fear is disappearing. Adrian paints a parallel picture with the concern that many had a long time ago with ATM machines. “When they first come out, everyone was afraid of losing their money and was dead scared of using these strange machines. Today, ATM machines are a part of our lives and no one has qualms about using them.” He believes the same thing will happen with online transactions. He may be right. Leading online banking services, Maybank2u.com, has 2.1 Million registered users and handles over 6.5 Million transactions worth RM850 Million per month.
The phobia against using credit card online is fast disappearing as online payment enablers strengthen security measures. There are also many other payment platforms emerging and credit cards may not necessary in the future to do online transactions.
The entry barrier into Ecommerce was steep back in the beginning. It wasn’t easy to set up an Ecommerce site back then and it used to cost a bomb to set up a good store. Adrian says that the technology itself has matured and that it is far easier to set up shop online these days. It also costs a lot less to put an “e” into commerce today. This significant improvement in quality and usability will help drive Ecommerce usage.
The final trend that Adrian believes will help usher in a new age of Ecommerce is the fast rising number of broadband users. Broadband will help make Ecommerce attractive to users. Just like any other store that gives good and quick service, broadband can help merchants enhance the customer’s shopping experience. So as more people connect to the Internet through faster connection, it can only mean good news for those who venture online to sell their goods.
Both Adrian and Wang are convinced that ecommerce has a bright future. Certainly, there were good reasons why Ecommerce did not take off years ago but those reasons are largely gone. And so, this may be a good time for businessman to consider setting up online stores. Everyday more and more people are increasingly beginning to depend on the Internet. Many cannot even imagine a day without the Internet. It has and will continue to be an important channel where people play, work and of course, SHOP!
Original Scanned Copy of Surf Interview here.
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