Asia poised to overtake US in e-commerce sales

But last mile delivery problems remain.

According to a release by the Supply Chain Asia Forum, Asia is poised to be the next top region for e-Commerce with an expected growth of more than 30% this year, exceeding last year’s 21.1% growth according to eMarketer.

E-Commerce will be the game changer, and indeed the next growth frontier for retailing in Asia, especially as the industry continues to harness the right opportunities
and to advance first-mover strategic initiatives to get ahead.

According to eMarketer, global B2C e-Commerce sales last year grew 21.1 per cent to top US$1 trillion for the first time.

This figure is expected to further increase by 18.3 per cent in 2013 to US$1.298 trillion, with Asia Pacific consumers forecast to buy up to US$433 billion, surpassing the expected volume of US$409 billion from North America. In 2012, Asia Pacific’s sales were recorded at US$332 billion compared with US’s contribution of US$364 billion.

China is expected to be the primary growth driver in the region. The country will surpass Japan as the world’s second-largest B2C e-Commerce market in 2013, taking
an estimated 14 per cent share of global sales, as the total revenue reaches US$181 billion, up 65 per cent from US$110 billion in 2012.

In addition, with a population of approximately 600 million, ASEAN will also form a formidable market for e-Commerce. The continued push by ASEAN to create a single
market by 2015 will lead to new and exciting opportunities for e-Commerce businesses here.