By Jennifer Chang     Photo：Negative Space

Many international courier companies, international e-commerce platforms and logistics companies are highly optimistic about the long-term growth potential of cross-border e-commerce, and cross-border online shopping has become a new trend for consumers. According to Fedex, the average growth rate of global e-commerce will reach 47% in the next five years, of which the Asian market will grow the fastest at 51%, followed by the European market at 42% and the North American market at 35%, creating huge development opportunities for the logistics industry. It is expected that by 2028 , the annual growth rate of the global logistics market can reach up to 6.6%.

In the ranking of the top 10 fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world, Southeast Asia accounted for 5 places, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. With a population of 278 million, Indonesia has become a relatively large-scale online consumer market in Southeast Asia. Compared with 2020, e-commerce sales in 2021 will be US$43.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 32%. Electronics and furniture are the main hot-selling categories in Indonesia. With a population of 32.8 million in Malaysia, e-commerce sales in 2021 will be US$6.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15% compared to 2020. Electronics and fashion are the two main hot-selling categories.  Thailand has a population of 70 million, and the country's e-commerce sales in 2021 will be $1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 28% compared to 2020. Electronics and personal care products are major consumer categories. Vietnam, with a population of 98.2 million, will see e-commerce sales of US$8 billion in 2021, a 24% year-on-year increase compared to 2020. The Philippines has a population of 112.7 million, second only to Indonesia, with relatively low e-commerce penetration. E-commerce sales in the Philippines in 2021 range from $5.5 billion (Global Data) to $12 billion (Statista), depending on data sources and sample situations. Internet penetration in the Philippines is 68%, the lowest among the top 5 countries.

There are many obstacles to the development of the industry in Southeast Asia, including weak infrastructure, limited Internet penetration, etc. It is reported that the application rate of computers in Southeast Asia is lower than that of smartphones, and almost everyone has a smartphone. The pandemic has devastated the brick-and-mortar retail industry and triggered a shift in consumer behavior. eMarketer predicts that e-commerce sales in Southeast Asia will increase by 20.6% in 2022 to a total of US$89.67 billion, or will surpass other regions. With the gradual development of consumers' demand for cross-border e-commerce, small and medium-sized merchants are actively jumping on the international stage of e-commerce, and major international supply chains including e-commerce platforms, logistics and express delivery industries are fully investing resources. With the unsealing of the restrictions one after another, cross-border e-commerce shopping has become a new normal, and it also supports the long-term and stable growth of air freight demand.

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