Free shipping emerged as the top factor among Filipinos when shopping online, according to a report released by e-commerce platform Shopify.
The 2024 Southeast Asia Retail Report showed that 80 percent of Filipino respondents said free shipping is a must.
Other top considerations are the use of mobile shops for online shopping (46 percent) and free returns (45 percent).
For in-store purchases, majority or 66% of Filipinos said the most important is attentive staff, followed by sufficient stock (57 percent), attentive service (52 percent).
“Experiences in the store are really changing rapidly because, you and I, when we walk into a store today, we pop out a marketplace and read the catalogue in detail before we decide what to buy. We’re not really relying on the salesman to tell us all the details, like we used to 10 years back,” said Bjarati Balakrishnan, head and director for Southeast Asia and India at Shopify.
“Invest in unified commerce, but please get your basics right before you enter the world of (augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence). Let’s get catalog and content assortment, inventory and pricing and promotions right,” she added.
Shopify helps businesses set up their online store and website for a subscription fee.IMT
