AMAZON Global Selling has established a remote team dedicated to supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines that plan to use cross-border electronic commerce.
The e-commerce platform said in a statement on Thursday that the remote team, based in Singapore, will focus on introducing Amazon’s innovative tools and resources to Philippine-based sellers, which could help them in expanding their customer reach.
Anand Palit, head of Amazon Global Selling in Southeast Asia, said the remote team was established after some sellers expressed their concerns about the lack of related knowledge and skills in using the platform.
“With this new team, we will provide insights and resources to support sellers in getting started with Amazon, launching product and building a global brand,” he said.
“Since Global Selling began to support Philippine sellers three years ago, we have seen more and more local sellers started from zero and gradually build their business on Amazon’s store worldwide. We are inspired by Philippine sellers and have confidence in their potential,” he added.
Citing a 2021 study by Alphabeta, Amazon Global Selling said business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce export revenues of sellers in the Philippines reached P8.7 billion, of which 25% went to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The study said e-commerce export revenues could increase by 9% per year to P13.4 billion in five years, based on current e-commerce adoption and export trends. The annual B2C e-commerce export revenues could reach P26.9 billion in 2026 if MSMEs were to accelerate the rate at which they export via e-commerce, it added.
“With the rising adoption of e-commerce and mobile internet, plus an emerging generation of young and tech-savvy users, cross-border e-commerce landscape continues to show potential of growth in the country,” Amazon Global Selling said.
More businesses are also planning to widen their customer base as seven out of 10 e-commerce sellers and traditional export companies in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines are aiming to expand in new countries and regions, based on an Amazon survey in 2022.
“Almost all (96%) who were surveyed will also consider cross-border e-commerce activities in the future, motivated by the opportunity to build a global brand, and increase their customer base from overseas,” Amazon Global Selling said.
Meanwhile, Amazon will have its Prime Day on July 11 and 12, which allows customers to shop for products from top brands and third-party sellers, including SMEs from the Philippines.
Amazon Global Selling allows sellers of different types and sizes to sell to over 300 million active customer accounts, including more than 200 million Prime customers and millions of institutional buyers. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave