Industry elites examine e-commerce opportunities amid volatility
Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the fourth Asian E-tailing Summit (AES) opened today and
runs until Friday (11 December), featuring more than 40 business professionals from e-tailing service giants, online
retail platforms and brand representatives. Through a series of online webinars and presentations, the summit will
examine the current business practices of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and share e-commerce success stories
and solutions from across the region, helping enterprises capture the opportunities brought by digitisation.Margaret Fong, Executive Director of the HKTDC, welcomed international delegates to the fourth Asian E-tailing Summit
(AES) which kicked off today.The AES is being held from 9 to 11 December and features more than 40 business professionals from the e-tailing sector.
The virtual event provides a one-stop platform for attendees to obtain the latest market intelligence and trends
relating to e-commerce in Asia.The summit kicked off with a session titled "Cross-border E-commerce in the New Digital Era", featuring heavyweight
speakers from the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan to explore the success stories of world-renowned
brands in cross-border e-commerce.
Today's online opening session was officiated by Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (HKSAR).
Margaret Fong, Executive Director of the HKTDC, welcomed international delegates to the virtual summit, saying: "While
the global pandemic has brought disruption to our economic and social activities, it is also accelerating the
development trends for online commerce. As a result, the AES has an even more important role to play this year. Under
the theme 'Embracing Change and Unlocking Opportunities in the New Digital World', the summit has gathered a quality
line-up of international industry experts to explore the latest insights, market intelligence and trends. This year's
summit has been extended to three days to ensure more networking opportunities between industry players. With more than
40 invited speakers, topics such as the latest cross-border e-commerce solutions, mobile commerce trends and
personalisation in digital customer engagement strategies will be explored in detail, assisting enterprises to adapt to
the new normal and grasp business opportunities."
Summit examines e-commerce opportunities
Cross-border e-commerce growth has been further accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more shoppers looking to
buy products online. The global market for cross-border business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce is expected to reach
US$4.8 trillion by 2027. The summit kicked off with a webinar on the theme "Cross-border E-commerce in the New Digital
Era", featuring heavyweight speakers from the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan, including corporate
representatives from FedEx, KPMG, Dubai South, eRomman, Priceza Co, SAP, Global-e, JD.COM and PayPal. The session
explored the success stories of world-renowned brands in cross-border e-commerce and how they developed strategies to
meet growing market demand. It also examined the latest technologies for improving supply chain management and the
delivery process to help companies adopt cost-effective models and enhance their stock flow to enable expansion in the
cross-border e-commerce market.
In this new digital era, numerous enterprises have highlighted the importance of data-driven business to help define new
business models. In the "Seeking Business Success in a Data-driven Economy" session, elite speakers from Singapore, the
Philippines, Myanmar and South Korea discussed how to use data analytics to build more precise business plans, which can
help business leaders make appropriate decisions more effectively. While companies are racing to digitise their
businesses in response to the new normal, blockchain has become one of the key factors in helping companies automate
their services seamlessly. In the session titled "Blockchain's Role in Customer Relationship Management and Supply
Chain", local start-ups and blockchain experts from Germany and Vietnam explained how blockchain has made access to and
use of customer data more convenient and reliable, enhancing customer relationship management (CRM) and resolving some
of the challenges faced by enterprises.
The second day of the summit will feature several topical issues including mobile commerce, personalised customer
experiences and omnichannel retailing. By 2021, it is estimated that 73% of all e-commerce sales will be made on a
mobile device. In the session "The Rise and the Reach of Mobile Commerce", Kazuhisa Iwamoto, Director, Business Creation
Department, Smart-Life Division, NTT DOCOMO, INC, and other international e-tailing experts will explain how 5G can
contribute to the development of mobile commerce, discuss trends in live commerce, the KOL (key opinion leader) economy,
virtual reality and artificial intelligence, and also explore how to tap into the huge mobile-user market.
In a session titled "Making the Customer Journey a Personal Experience", Senti AI from the Phillippines and other
industry experts will share how to create tailor-made messages and content by using the latest digital customer
engagement strategies to drive customer loyalty and increase revenue. In the "Navigating the Future of Omnichannel"
session, representatives from iClick Interactive, Pandora Jewelry Asia-Pacific Limited, Snaptee and The Great Eagle
Company will explore how businesses can adopt omnichannel strategies to connect with customers and gain a competitive
edge.
On the summit's final day, several international e-commerce elites will provide advisory services to companies
interested in setting up their own e-commerce platforms. Jonathan York, Consulting Manager, Euromonitor International,
will analyse how companies can succeed in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market through e-commerce
and explore the digital consumer mindset in the region. Frankie Ng, Hong Kong Lead, Shopify, will share how the brand
uses a blend of technology and strategy to win in the increasingly competitive online environment, while Harrace Lau,
Co-founder of eOneNet, will introduce a 10-step internet success system to help companies turn around their online
business and expand globally. And with e-commerce in Southeast Asia increasing in value from US$5.5 billion in 2015 to
US$38 billion in 2019, Fione Tan, President, 28Mall, will help business owners who wish to enter this market to resolve
problems relating to cross-border logistics, customs clearance and import duties, local customer services and last-mile
deliveries.
In addition to the key activities at the AES, the third Asia's Best E-tailing Awards, with the HKTDC as a strategic
partner, concluded today. The awards aim to recognise the exceptional and inspirational accomplishments of the region's
best e-tailing merchants, specialists and service providers.
Website
- Asian E-tailing Summit: http://www.hktdc.com/ncs/aes2020/en/main/index.html
About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop
Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way
global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to
create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and
international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via trade
publications, research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn