With the need to pivot to the new normal, Globe encourages Local Government Units (LGUs) to boost their e-commerce for convenience and safety of their constituents and to help SMEs in their online business.
In the recent Liveable Cities Challenge (LCC) Webinar Series: E-Commerce in the New Normal, Frances Caluya, Globe Industry Marketing Manager for Hotels, Restaurants and Cafes, Globe MyBusiness, said the pandemic has spurred consumers to rely more heavily on online purchases and services. Recent statistics show that due to COVID-19, 23% of the Philippine population is spending more time shopping online.
Caluya says it’s about time the LGUs maximize e-commerce, to help their constituents and to support SMEs by ensuring that connectivity and access to the internet are present. He added that more establishments and retail shops are now using the internet to sell and to survive the economic downside of the pandemic. Demand for online services has increased. 91% of online Filipinos have visited an online retail store. Of this number, 71% have bought a product online.
Before the onset of the pandemic, only 2% of SMEs in the country sold online. Worldwide, e-commerce sales are expected to increase from $1B in 2019 to $5-6B by 2025.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) likewise recognized the sudden increase of activities in e-commerce in the country. DTI Asec. Jean Pacheco acknowledged the contributions of Globe and GCash in making this a reality especially that the economy is among the many sectors hit by the pandemic.
Pacheco assured that the government and the DTI want to promote e-commerce so that there will be more merchants, and small-medium enterprises which will take advantage of the new technology especially during the pandemic.
Justin Yap, Head of Acquisition for Non-Traditional Merchants of GCash, said LGUs can improve their services in so many ways by using the GCash app. He cited the example of the challenge being imposed by physical distancing.
GCash is currently the number one e-Wallet provider in the Philippines with at least 23 million customers and 75,000 QR merchants. Downloading the app is free of charge. Aside from ease of doing business, using GCash likewise promotes transparency and minimizes red tape and corruption in LGUs dealings with their constituents. It is also a good way to avoid contracting COVID-19 because a user doesn’t need to physically touch paper bills that might be contaminated with the deadly virus.
Hosted and moderated by Bill Luz, chair of the Liveable Cities Challenge, the second session of the eight part LCC Webinar Series drew the participation of close to 400 attendees including 14 mayors, one Vice Governor and representatives of 66 cities and municipalities all over the country.
The LCC Liveable Cities Labs Webinar series’ next session is dubbed Digital Transformation in a Post GCQ World: Building Healthy Cities and is set 3-5pm on Wednesday, August 19, 2020.
