Impact of E-commerce in the Philippines in the time of Pandemic

Angelica Beatriz L. Benecen

MMA 201
Bachelor of Multimedia Arts
Jumel G. Estrañero
 Introduction

Figure 01 Top Ecommerce sites in the Philippines Source: CNN Staff. 2020

In the 21st century, a lot of things have changed in our lives because of the technology
enhancements and business trades has become part of the change. Technology changes the way of
communication, interaction, and transactions of globalization. Online shopping is the way of
buying products thru the internet.

"The history of e-commerce started over 40 years ago when the introduction of early
technology like Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and teleshopping in the 1970s paved the way
for the modern-day e-commerce store as we know it today. The history of e-commerce is closely
intertwined with the history of the internet. Online shopping became possible when the internet
was opened to the public in 1991. Amazon was one of the first e-commerce sites in the US to start
selling products online and thousands of businesses have followed since. The convenience, safety,
and enjoyable user experience of e-commerce have improved exponentially since the inception of
online shopping. In his article, we will discuss some of the key players and milestones of e-
commerce." (Miva, 2020)

In 2011, E-commerce has become a mass in the Philippines, and "Multiply shopping" is
one of the websites that has been used by Filipinos that got over 90 thousand merchants. In 2015,
E-commerce has grown and evolved in the Philippines because the internet and Facebook had over
40 million active users.
A lot of online shopping websites and applications had started to appear. Lazada, Shoppee,
OLX, and Zalora are the most popular E-commerce websites/application in the Philippines. In the
year 2020, The pandemic, Covid-19 that originated from the Wuhan province of China has reached
the Philippines, which is the reason for a nationwide lockdown for many places in the whole
country. Many businesses and stores had closed. Because of the pandemic, Online shopping
demand had started to increase, and it is now the new way of buying things in the time of "New
Normal" or the new way of living because of the pandemic.
 Body
Numbers of Shoppers in the Philippines (in millions)

Figure 02 Philippines Growth of online shoppers from year 2016-2020 Source: Statista,2020
https://aseanup.com/insights-trends-e-commerce-philippines/

This graph shows the growth of online shoppers in the Philippines from 2016-2020. As the
population of the Internet and Social media users increase, online shop consumers also grow. It
shows the increase in demand for E-commerce yearly. One of the reasons is also the increase in
the number of mobile users in the Philippines.

Figure Number of mobile phone users in the Philippines 2014-2020 Source: Statista,2020
https://www.statista.com/statistics/570389/philippines-mobile-phone-user-penetration/
 Figure 03 Frequency of online purchases during COVID-19 pandemic Philippines 2020 Source:
Statista,2020 and Rakuten Insight,2020
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1126541/philippines-frequency-of-online-purchase-covid-19/

Online shopping gains an increase in demand yearly because of the new advanced
technology and because of the new social media platforms. The year 2020 got the highest demand
for online shop consumers since e-commerce sites started in the country. It is also the result of the
pandemic of Covid-19 because it is the most efficient way of buying needs, customers don't need
to go outside, and they can just find their needs using mobile phone or computer.

Most people now have access to the internet, Telecom companies, and Social media
developers are creating strategies to reduce the amount of data usage to get more internet users.
There are now a lot of Mobile users of all ages, According to the online survey of Statista (2020),
most online shoppers are between the ages of 16-24 and 25-34-year-old because these ages are the
most common people who use the internet.
 Figure 04 Reasons for increasing e-commerce activities Philippines 2020Source: Statista,2020
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1126653/philippines-reasons-for-increasing-online-purchases-during-
covid-19/

Figure 05 Frequently purchased products from e-commerce sites COVID 19 Source: Statista,2020
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1126701/philippines-main-products-frequently-bought-from-e-
commerce-sites-covid-19/
 Analysis
Base on the Figures, the demand for online shopping has grown every year as the technology
enhances, and mobile users increase. 2020 got the highest demand for Online shopping, and the
main reason is because of the pandemic. Base in Figure 04, there are a lot of reasons why many
people prefer online shopping. The top reasons are;
• A lot of nonessential businesses has closed because of the implemented health protocol
because of the pandemic,
• Many people are practicing social distancing, and they want to limit their time outside.
• They are under quarantine, and they need to stay home.

There are a lot of products that can be purchase on E-commerce sites. The main products
that consumers get are Food because supermarkets and restaurants need to have limited customers
because of the protocol, and it is the easiest way to buy food products. Hygiene and household
cleaning are also products that have a high demand for consumers because everything needs to be
clean now to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Many people also use online shopping to
buy medicines to avoid going to hospitals and pharmacy which is one of the strictest places. Other
people are also consuming their desire products like Fashion clothing and accessories, beauty
products gadgets, and beauty products. People prefer to use online shopping because it is the most
efficient way of buying products.

Recommendation
Quality Products
The products in Online shops must be properly handled by the logistics and delivers. The
sellers must also sell real and suitable products for their customers. Every day, there are always
reports from customers on the E-commerce site because of the wrong, damage, and delayed
delivery of products. The E-commerce management and Sellers must fix these problems from their
products to get reliability and trust from consumers. They must check the durability, quality, and
specifications before heading to delivery to avoid reports and low ratings of products and services.

Delivery Courier
The deliveries also encounter reports because of the damage and delayed delivery of
products. Some customers also experienced unexpected delivery of products even they don't
purchase anything in an Online shop, this thing happens because of the wrong address that might
be the fault of the logistics, and also the customers that are fooling around in online shopping.
Because of this problem, sometimes the courier has to pay for the product from the wrong address.
Courier companies and E-commerce sites must have a tracking system for the customers for
assurance.
 Conclusion
In the year 2020, Ecommerce sites got an increased demand for online shoppers because
of the increase in mobile and social media users. it also became a demand because of the pandemic
of Corona Virus 19 that we are still experiencing now. Online shoppers choose this kind of method
of their buying needs because it is the most efficient way.
Using social media and using a mobile phone has become a habit for many people of all
ages. For many people, online shopping became the easiest way of buying needs because all you
need is to search for products on an e-commerce site, and you just have to wait for the delivery at
your home.
Online shopping is a good way but, people still need to secure the safety of the products
have consumed because it is not sure if the sellers and courier have handled the products safely
because we are still experiencing the pandemic. Using an E-commerce site is the easiest way to
find products, and because of that, it can also cause people to be a shopaholic. Consumers need to
limit and control themselves to avoid addictive consumption.
Ecommerce companies must improve their services, especially now that their consumers'
demand grows. They must assure that retailers sell the right and good products, the courier
companies must secure their delivery services. Online shopping sites' help centers, and customer
service must also be responsive to customers about their complaints and suggestions about their
services.
Online shopping is a new way of buying our needs, and it's part of the 'New Normal' that
we are experiencing now because of the pandemic.

Way Ahead
1. Online shopping services will surely improve because of the technological innovation and
the growing demand of consumers.
2. The E-commerce site will probably continually get an increase in financial income that can
help to improve their service.
3. The courier companies may improve their delivery transaction
4. The retailers may improve the products that they sell
5. E-commerce sites will sell more products
6. Online shopping will be the most demand new way of shopping
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