Filipino retailers have quickly adopted live selling compared to their peers in the region as a major platform to push their merchandize to the market, according to a leading tech-enabled logistics company.
In its first ever white paper on Live Selling in Southeast Asia (SEA), the country’s leading tech-enabled logistics company Ninja Van Philippines revealed that 47 percent of Filipino sellers conduct sessions daily, versus weekly average in the region.
The white paper introduces Live Selling as one of the up-and-coming SEA e-commerce trends, and shares Live Selling insights collected from over 1,000 Ninja Van’s e-commerce sellers across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
While still a nascent industry, the company’s white paper showed that nearly one in three surveyed sellers have tried live selling.
Specifically, Ninja Van said that of those who are already live selling, nine in 10 prefer to do it themselves, and only one in 10 tap influencers to do live selling for them. Filipino sellers are among the most prolific live sellers, with 47 percent doing it daily - against a 31 percent regional average.
More Filipinos than their regional counterparts also believe that live selling brings in new business, with 74 percent saying that attracting new customers is a top driver for conducting live selling. A secondary driver would be to increase profit, with 52 percent of Filipino sellers saying live selling is more profitable than just posting items on marketplaces and apps.
“Live selling is an interesting marketing tactic for e-commerce sellers,” said Winston Seow, Chief Marketing and Enablement Officer, Ninja Van Group. “It’s the only tactic that can fast-track shoppers’ purchase journeys from awareness straight to conversion. Live selling also gives e-commerce sellers the ability to build relationships at scale with their shoppers, both new and existing.”
Filipino sellers can spend up to 14 hours weekly conducting live selling sessions, versus a regional average of up to six hours. Most of the early adopters of live selling are from low-involvement product categories such as Fashion, Beauty & Personal Care, Food and Beverages, as well as Home and Living.
While Shopee (27.0%), Facebook (25.5%), and TikTok (22.5%) are ranked as the top three live selling channels, the close margins signal that the champion has yet to emerge in SEA. This could be explained by the fact that on average, the surveyed SEA e-commerce sellers use two channels for Live Selling, presumably to maximize their outreach to live shoppers.
Sellers also use live selling as a means to build deeper connections with consumers. “Live selling allows us to easily and directly engage with our audience who have become regular viewers of our live sessions. We've also seen lower product return rates since we have started live selling,” says Nikka Arasa of Suniega Stainless Products Tradings, a stainless product manufacturer based in Nagcarlan, Laguna.
The white paper further explores the challenges of Live Selling, such as keeping Live Shoppers engaged, preparing on-set logistical requirements, as well as sales and post-sales arrangements, while providing recommended solutions.
The Live Selling in SEA white paper reaffirms the Ninja Van Group’s commitment to understanding the ever-changing landscape in order to provide e-commerce sellers with hassle-free delivery solutions.
Ninja Van Philippines plans to conduct their first-ever live seller accelerator program, designed to equip both new and would-be live sellers necessary skills and seed money to bridge their business to live selling platforms.
With its dominance in Southeast Asian e-commerce logistics, the Group continues to nurture an ecosystem that provides value-added services and tools to ensure a seamless experience for shippers and shoppers alike.
Launched in the Philippines in 2016, Ninja Van’s “Todo Hustle, No Hassle” commitment now serves 100% of the Philippine population, and has made it among the fastest-growing tech logistics companies in the country. Today, Ninja Van continues empowering businesses with fast deliveries, excellent service, and innovative logistics solutions.
Ninja Van Philippines operates the groups largest automated sorting facility in its Cabuyao, Laguna hub.